In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, aid partners operating a toll-free counselling hotline report cases involving suicide ideation rose by 90 per cent. In Gaza, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 43,000 people have potentially life-changing injuries.
In Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports an surge in gender-based violence in the first three months of this year. Almost 2,000 incidents — or about 21 cases per day — were recorded. More than 70 per cent of the cases involved rape, up from 49 per cent the previous quarter.
The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that 6.5 million people in Somalia are experiencing crisis-level hunger, acute malnutrition or are at risk of starvation due to worsening drought conditions, conflict and funding shortfalls. WFP warns that without additional funding it may be forced to halt emergency assistance.
In Ukraine, humanitarian convoys continue to reach hard-to-access communities near the front line, even as heavy bombardment in urban centres across the east are causing civilian casualties, including among first responders. In the last two days, the UN and its partners delivered two convoys to the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.
In Sudan, the World Health Organization, UN Children’s Fund and the Government have launched a nationwide polio vaccination campaign to reach over 4 million children under the age of five in high-risk and conflict-impacted areas in Kassala and North Kordofan. Nearly 1.5 million children remain inadequately protected.
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is monitoring the situation in the Pyla plateau, where peacekeepers have stepped up patrols and are maintaining a visible presence on the ground, following the observation of unauthorized entry by Turkish Cypriot security personnel into the United Nations buffer zone.
In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a five-day vaccination campaign led by the Ministry of Health is under way supported by WHO, UNICEF, UNRWA, donors and partners, to vaccinate children under the age of three, including in hard-to-reach areas.
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the One Health Summit, in Lyon, France, today:
In Abyei, leaders from the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities have signed a Declaration of Intent with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) to curb the spread of weapons in the disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan. UNISFA stresses that dialogue remains the only viable path to end disputes.
The UN Peacebuilding Fund has approved $2.5 million for an anti-corruption initiative in Guinea-Bissau to strengthen the country’s oversight and audit institutions, advance digital solutions and reinforce partnerships with national stakeholders.
