Health

The UN team in Costa Rica is presenting a “Preparedness and Response Plan for People in Transit” to partners this week, which aims to boost assistance to vulnerable refugees and migrants. Over 500,000 people entered Costa Rica from Panama in 2023 — more than double the number of those who did so in 2022.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that since 2023, 13 Eastern and Southern African countries, particularly Zimbabwe and Zambia, have battled one of the worst cholera outbreaks in years. As of 15 January 2024, more than 200,000 cases, including some 3,000 fatalities, have been reported.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, observed on 27 December:

The General Assembly today designated 7 September as World Duchenne Awareness Day, to be observed as a United Nations day every year, beginning in 2024, as it held its annual debate on global health, with speakers expressing deep alarm over the persistent and deadly spread of tuberculosis.

The UN is now seeking $173 million to support communities through March 2024 affected by the impact of three earthquakes that struck Herat province in west Afghanistan last month. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports 275,00 people have been affected, up from an initial estimate of 114,000 people.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today launched its Production Gap Report, which reveals that Governments are on track to produce more than twice the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be needed to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

In Libya, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that, five weeks after Storm Daniel brought catastrophic flooding to the country’s north-east, more than 43,000 people are still displaced.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned today that at least 10,000 children in Sudan under the age of five may die by the end of this year due to increased food insecurity and disruptions to essential services since conflict broke out in the country.

In Afghanistan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that aftershocks continue three days after the earthquake which struck Herat Province and affected over 12,000 people. The UN and its partners are on the ground providing emergency food, shelter, health care and household aid.

The General Assembly today committed to tackle several major global health challenges, adopting three declarations that laid out measures to better prepare for and respond to pandemics, give everyone access to health coverage and care for people suffering from tuberculosis.