Health

Before leaving Kyiv today, the Secretary-General said that, while he would keep pushing for a full-scale ceasefire, the United Nations would also keep striving for immediate practical steps to save lives and reduce human suffering, including through local cessation of hostilities and safe passage for civilian and supply routes.

In Haiti, violent clashes between gangs in the capital have displaced several hundred people and preliminary data indicates at least 20 civilian deaths, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports.  United Nations agencies are helping the Government to assess emergency needs in impacted areas.

Over 1 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have received one or more doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine thanks to a pilot programme coordinated by the World Health Organization.  The agency estimates that, if widely deployed, the vaccine could save the lives of an additional 40,000 to 80,000 children annually.

United Nations staff in South Africa say they are working closely with national and local authorities to support regions impacted by last week’s devastating floods, including providing dignity packs, blankets, food and other necessities in Kwazulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Provinces, and working to restore access to services and Internet connectivity.

The number of hungry people in the Horn of Africa could soar from 14 million to 20 million by the end of 2022 without desperately needed rains and urgent humanitarian funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned today.  Somalia faces famine, half a million Kenyans are a step away from catastrophic hunger, and Ethiopia is already well above emergency thresholds.

The United Nations team in Myanmar remains alarmed by deteriorating humanitarian conditions amid continued fighting, particularly in the country’s south-east and north-west.  Across Myanmar, more than 900,000 people are displaced, including more than 560,000 people who remain uprooted since the military takeover in February 2021.

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.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the GAVI COVAX Advance Market Commitment Summit 2022, “One World Protected - Break COVID Now”, in New York today:

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.