The General Assembly today designated 7 September as World Duchenne Awareness Day, to be observed as a United Nations day every year, beginning in 2024, as it held its annual debate on global health, with speakers expressing deep alarm over the persistent and deadly spread of tuberculosis.
The UN is now seeking $173 million to support communities through March 2024 affected by the impact of three earthquakes that struck Herat province in west Afghanistan last month. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports 275,00 people have been affected, up from an initial estimate of 114,000 people.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today launched its Production Gap Report, which reveals that Governments are on track to produce more than twice the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be needed to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
In Libya, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that, five weeks after Storm Daniel brought catastrophic flooding to the country’s north-east, more than 43,000 people are still displaced.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned today that at least 10,000 children in Sudan under the age of five may die by the end of this year due to increased food insecurity and disruptions to essential services since conflict broke out in the country.
In Afghanistan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that aftershocks continue three days after the earthquake which struck Herat Province and affected over 12,000 people. The UN and its partners are on the ground providing emergency food, shelter, health care and household aid.
The General Assembly today committed to tackle several major global health challenges, adopting three declarations that laid out measures to better prepare for and respond to pandemics, give everyone access to health coverage and care for people suffering from tuberculosis.
In Armenia, the UN, led by acting Resident Coordinator Natia Natsvlishvili, is boosting support to national authorities to address the needs of over 100,000 refugees, who recently arrived. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continues to distribute locally procured core relief items requested by local municipalities.
The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has launched a joint operation in Djugu Territory, in Ituri Province, with the Congolese Armed Forces against the armed group CODECO in response to recent attacks against civilians and the presence of CODECO members in the area.
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Mental Health Day, observed on 10 October: