Haiti

The United Nations team in Afghanistan today released its new road map which prioritizes the needs and rights of those most vulnerable, including women and girls, children and youth, internally displaced persons, returnees, refugees, ethnic and religious minorities and focuses on essential services, among other things.

Amid Haiti’s rapidly deteriorating situation in which nearly half its population is facing severe food insecurity, the international community must take urgent action now, speakers stressed to the Economic and Social Council today during its Special Meeting on that country.

In Greece, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration are calling for urgent and decisive action to prevent further deaths at sea following the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean, the worst in several years.

In Peru today, the United Nations and local partners redirected $3 million to support the Government’s efforts to protect 140,000 people impacted by El Niño, which has brought torrential rains to the country. Over 711,000 people require urgent food, water services, sanitation and health aid.

The International Renewable Energy Agency, United Nations Statistics Division, World Bank and the World Health Organization released a report showing that basic energy access is lagging even as renewable energy use is growing, with 675 million people still without electricity and 2.3 billion still relying on harmful cooking fuels.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is supporting the Haitian Civil Protection General Directorate in coordinating the emergency response to the devastating floods and landslides that authorities say have killed at least 42 people and impacted more than 37,000 people, including displacing some 19,000 people.

In Myanmar, 5.4 million people are expected to have been in the path of Cyclone Mocha – one of the strongest to ever hit the country – in Rakhine and in the north-west. Given the high risk of waterborne and communicable diseases, humanitarian agencies will need access to people impacted by the cyclone, as well as expedited travel authorizations and customs clearances for supplies.

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.

A new United Nations report estimates that $15 billion will be needed for Syria to recover, three months after the earthquake. The Syria Earthquake Recovery Needs Assessment, a collaborative effort among 11 United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, puts the total damages and losses at almost $9 billion.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Pascale Christine Baeriswyl (Switzerland):