Food

In Sudan, at least 100 trucks of humanitarian assistance reached their destinations in several states, including the capital, Khartoum. They carried 2,600 tons of supplies, including nutrition, water, sanitation and health items for up to 2 million men, women and children.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McCain and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Director General Qu Dongyu announced today the appointment of Carl Skau of Sweden as WFP Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, to serve at the Assistant Secretary-General level.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that at least 573,000 children under the age of five are at risk of suffering from malnutrition in Malawi. UNICEF noted that the country is still grappling with the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy, with over 650,000 people internally displaced.

In Sudan, the World Food Programme says it has now reached over 300,000 people since restarting emergency food distributions there two weeks ago. Two cargo planes from the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service carrying critical supplies for United Nations agencies and aid partners have arrived in Port Sudan.

Two months after Tropical Cyclone Freddy devastated Malawi, United Nations agencies continue to support the Government-led response. While humanitarian assistance has reached 1.4 million people, more funding is needed to continue this work and the flash appeal — only 21 per cent funded — is asking for $116 million.

While intensive discussions are ongoing to secure an extension and improvements to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, rising attacks on civilians are impacting humanitarian aid, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as speakers took stock of the ongoing fallout of the war on Ukraine which is inching past the fifteenth month mark.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today issued a fact-finding report on Mali which concluded that there are strong indications that more than 500 people were killed in March 2022 by Malian troops and foreign military personnel in the village of Moura in the Mopti region of central Mali.

In Somalia, the United Nations and the Government have just unveiled a revamped multi-donor trust fund in support of the country’s development priorities. The Somalia Joint Fund will provide flexible funding to address key challenges facing the country and its people.

In Sudan, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are increasing their response to the current crisis. With food insecurity expected to surge to record levels, affecting two fifths of the population, the World Food Programme plans to scale up emergency assistance to some 4.9 million people in the coming months.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the briefing to UN Member States on the first United Nations Food Systems Stocktaking Moment, in New York today: