Health

In Sudan, a World Food Programme team successfully arrived today in greater Khartoum, where they are coordinating with local authorities to scale up assistance. WFP aims to expand aid deliveries to nearly 1 million people over the coming month, amid high risk of famine in many areas.

Consensus has been reached on a draft pandemic agreement after more than three years of intensive negotiations. By that, Member States of the World Health Organization took a major step forward in efforts to make the world safer from pandemics.

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

In Ecuador, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team reports at least 150,000 people have been impacted by the massive oil spill in Esmeraldas in March and need humanitarian assistance.

The Commission on Population and Development failed to adopt an outcome document today as it concluded its fifty-eighth session, with delegates sharply divided about support for sexual and reproductive rights, and some questioning commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Overstretched, underfunded health systems that cannot meet the needs of the most vulnerable are undermining gains made towards sustainable development, the Commission on Population and Development heard today as it entered the third day of its current session.

The United Nations team in Afghanistan today urged the international donor community to maintain critical support for the people of Afghanistan. With 22.9 million men, women and children in need of assistance in 2025, the country is today the world’s second-largest humanitarian crisis.

In South Sudan, the head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) continues to be engaged in intensive high-level political efforts to de-escalate the current tensions and convince the parties to preserve the peace deal they all agreed to.

In Somalia, nearly 4.6 million people are likely to experience high levels of hunger from now until June, according to United Nations estimates. Humanitarian needs in the country are rising at a time when funding for aid operations is plummeting.

In response to the earthquake in Myanmar, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees rushed emergency supplies from Yangon to some 25,000 earthquake survivors in the Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw areas. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have also begun delivering emergency supplies.