About 540,000 children in the area impacted by last month’s earthquake in Haiti now face the possibility that water-borne diseases will re-emerge, UNICEF warns. The agency is working with Haitian authorities and civil society partners to improve access to water and sanitation, with the aim of reaching 500,000 people.
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Health
Weather-related disasters have risen five-fold since 1970, killing $2 million people, mostly in developing countries, and causing $3.64 trillion in losses, the World Meteorological Organization reported today. However, the number of deaths fell significantly thanks to better early warning systems and disaster management.
A devastating combination of a severe drought – the worst in 40 years – sandstorms and pest infestations have led to crop losses of up to 60 per cent in Madagascar, where the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Grand Sud. People have resorted to eating locusts, raw red cactus fruits or wild leaves.
The Secretary-General will convene a high-level dialogue on energy on Friday, 24 September, under the auspices of the General Assembly. The dialogue, which will be held virtually, is an opportunity to mobilize action and cooperation to ensure that all people can access clean, affordable energy by 2030.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that the first day of school has been indefinitely postponed for 140 million first-time students around the world, due to the pandemic. The consequences of school closures – notably learning loss, heightened risk of dropping out and child labour – will be felt by the youngest learners.
Humanitarian officials in Myanmar said today they will continue to call on security forces to ensure the protection of civilians, as the number of people killed in political violence tops 1,000. They strongly condemn the widespread use of lethal force, arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearances.
Heavy rains and flooding have claimed dozens of lives in Chad and Niger, impacting over 100,000 people in recent weeks. The United Nations is supporting Governments in providing health care, food, shelter, water, hygiene and sanitation, and warns that the Sahel region’s weather variability has been worsened by climate change.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) reports that it has facilitated discussions between the Hema and Bira communities in Irumu territory in Ituri. As a result, the rival groups signed a protocol of non-aggression and cessation of violence.
Health authorities in Guinea, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), have confirmed the country’s first case of Marburg virus. The United Nations team on the ground is bolstering urgent infection prevention and control measures, such as contact tracing, while strengthening treatment capacity and risk communication.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regained access to two refugee camps previously cut off by clashes in Ethiopia’s Tigray Province. It is calling for urgent support amid rising displacement, as well as safe passage to transfer refugees to a safer site, 135 kilometres away.