Health

Somalia faces a risk of famine in six areas through June 2022 if the rainy season from April to June fails as predicted, if food prices continue to rise, and if humanitarian assistance is not scaled up to reach the most vulnerable populations.  An estimated 4.9 million people across Somalia have been impacted.

The United Nations takes note of the decision by Yemen’s President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to irrevocably delegate his full powers to a newly formed Presidential Leadership Council and stands ready to work with that Council and the Yemeni parties for a sustainable, inclusive settlement of the conflict.

As Ramadan begins, the soaring cost of food staples in import-dependent Middle Eastern and North African countries is creating ever greater challenges for millions of families already struggling to keep hunger at bay, the World Food Programme said, warning that millions will struggle to buy even basic foods.

In Tajikistan, the United Nations is mobilizing $40 million to help authorities address the needs of over 14,000 refugees and asylum seekers, nearly all of them from Afghanistan.  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is coordinating the effort, with over 30 humanitarian and development partners.

On the heels of International Water Day, which was yesterday, humanitarian staff in the Horn of Africa say millions of people face severe water shortages and are going hungry due to the devastating drought in that region, which risks becoming one of the Horn’s worst climate-induced emergencies in the last 40 years.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said they are closely following reports about the mobilization of forces and movement of large convoys of armed groups that have increased tensions in and around Tripoli.  The Mission calls on all parties to refrain from any action that could lead to armed clashes.

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

The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) is deeply concerned about renewed violence in the south of the Area, which has led to deaths and the displacement of thousands, saying long-standing grievances and disputes between communities in Abyei and neighbouring areas have resulted in weeks of violence.

Two peacekeepers died and four others were injured in Mali this morning, when their convoy hit an improvised explosive device north of Mopti while on its way to Timbuktu.  They were all from Egypt.  The attack is another reminder of the urgent need to continue and strengthen efforts to stabilize the centre of Mali.

A three-month flash appeal to provide vital assistance for 542,000 people affected by Tropical Storm Ana, which hit Malawi late in January, has been launched in the country.  It seeks $29.4 million and focuses on the six hardest-hit districts — Chikwawa, Nsanje, Phalombe, Mulanje, Chiradzulu and Balaka.