The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is deeply concerned by news of a boat carrying migrants adrift off the Canary Islands for almost a month before it was found. Spanish authorities recovered 44 survivors. More than 80 people are believed to have died or gone missing. Monitoring and rescue capacity along the West Africa Atlantic route remain limited.
A new World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report that shows that the El Niño phenomenon is firmly established and will intensify into a very strong event in the coming months. WMO noted that this will have big impacts on rainfall and temperature patterns, associated risks of floods, drought and extreme heat.
Attacks across Ukraine in recent days have caused significant civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, including in Kyiv and Odesa. Humanitarian Coordinator Matthias Schmale cited a growing pattern of strikes on shopping malls, warehouses, railway and energy infrastructure, stressing that such attacks should never be normalized.
In Ukraine, nearly 60 civilians were killed and 240 injured in attacks over the weekend, according to authorities. Kyiv and its surrounding region, were the hardest hit, with drone strike on an ammunition depot triggering an explosion that killed 38 people, including residents of an elder care facility.
In Nepal, over 500 people have been confirmed dead due to mass flooding, hundreds remain missing and over 3,700 have so far been rescued. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher said the UN and its aid partners are moving at speed, helping national authorities to deliver urgent, life-saving support.
In Djibouti, drier-than-normal, El Niño-driven conditions have left 256,000 people, a quarter of the population, acutely food insecure through December. Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $2 million from the Central Emergency Response to support over 53,000 of the most vulnerable people.
The risk of the Ebola outbreak spreading to the Central African Republic has increased following the confirmation of cases in provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo bordering the country. The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator has allocated $3 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help the Central African Republic with prevention efforts.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the Ebola outbreak has caused nearly 2,500 deaths as of 18 August, the Government and aid partners are expanding the response with five operational priorities. The World Health Organization (WHO) has allocated 70,000 doses of the Ebola Zaire vaccine to front-line health workers.
In Colombia, the UN and its partners have provided assistance to 3,000 people across the departments of Chocó, Valle del Cauca and Risaralda, complementing the Government-led response following the earthquake that struck the country just over a week ago, impacting over 186,000 people and leading to 300 deaths.
In the Central African Republic, the UN peacekeeping mission, UN agencies and the UN Department of Safety and Security are helping the national authorities strengthen the national response and preparedness efforts to prevent the Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo from entering.
