Food

The United Nations Secretariat at the Joint Coordination Centre reports that the Ukrainian, Turkish and United Nations delegations agreed not to plan any movement of vessels in the Black Sea Grain Initiative for 2 November.

In Tunisia, the third of nine commercial vessels from Ukraine arrived over the weekend, through the Black Sea Grain Initiative, bringing more than 78,000 tons of soft wheat to the country. A fourth vessel is scheduled to land today in Tunis, with 30,000 tons of corn.

The Russian Federation’s decision to temporarily suspend its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, due to alleged attacks against its ships, risks causing spikes in food and fertilizer prices and disproportionately impacting developing countries, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today, as delegates urged all parties to work towards resuming shipments and extending the agreement.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The General Assembly today adopted a resolution delivering $3.52 million to the Secretary-General to ease global food insecurity by facilitating the implementation of two key initiatives aimed at bringing agricultural commodities from Ukraine and the Russian Federation to world markets and countries in need.  The Assembly also considered the International Court of Justice’s annual report.

A report by the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change shows that countries are bending the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions downward, but the report underscores that these efforts remain insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of the century.

In Pakistan, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is warning today that in the flood-impacted areas of Sindh and Balochistan, more than 1 in 9 children under 5 admitted to health facilities are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today sent the General Assembly a draft resolution that would deliver $3.52 million to the Secretary‑General to ease global food insecurity, while also urging each other to make timely payments to ease the Organization’s unpredictable financial outlook.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the World Food Forum:  Youth, Science and Investments for Transformative Agrifood Systems Pathways, today:

The World Health Organization’s new report noted that, in this decade, almost 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other noncommunicable diseases due to physical inactivity. If Governments do not urgently encourage more physical activity, costs for this could reach $27 billion annually.