Humanitarian issues

The second round of the polio vaccination campaign began in the middle area of the Gaza Strip. Over the coming 12 days, colleagues at UNRWA, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other aim to vaccinate around 590,000 children under 10 years of age with a second dose of the novel oral polio vaccination type 2.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is alarmed by reports of a series of violent clashes in the Central Equatoria state, which resulted in the deaths of 24 people, including 19 civilians. UNMISS has intensified patrols across Central Equatoria and is working to access the area and prevent further escalations.

In Myanmar, amid an expanding conflict, an estimated 1 million people are also suffering from the impacts of deadly flooding. To bolster emergency relief efforts, the Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, allocated $4 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund at the end of September.

In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that intense attacks in the south and east of the country this week have killed and injured dozens of civilians and damaged homes, a hospital and schools.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Tom Fletcher of the United Kingdom as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  He succeeds Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom, to whom the Secretary-General is deeply grateful for his outstanding work, dedicated service and long-standing commitment to the Organization.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction: “The role of education in protecting and empowering youth for a disaster-free future”, observed on 13 October:

Marking one year since Hamas attacked Israel and killed over 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals, the Secretary-General urged the global community to condemn “in the loudest voice” Hamas’s acts, demanded the immediate release of all hostages and called for the Red Cross to be allowed to visit the hostages. 

New estimates indicate that nearly 67 million people in Eastern Africa are now in need of humanitarian assistance, accounting for more than 20 per cent of the total number of people in need globally. Humanitarians continue to provide assistance to millions of people.

In Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that Israeli bombardments are continuing from the air, land and sea, which has resulted in civilian casualties, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure.

In Haiti, half of the country’s population, 5.4 million people face acute hunger, according to new analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Two million are in the grips of emergency levels of hunger and at least 6,000 displaced people face catastrophic levels of food insecurity.