Humanitarian issues

In the Central African Republic, the United Nations peacekeeping mission there began an electoral awareness campaign in Obo and in Bria to encourage strong participation in the local elections.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today released its newest survey on opium cultivation. The agency estimates that poppy cultivation in Myanmar has increased by 33 per cent in the first season since the military takeover.

Twelve years filled with destruction and war, corruption, sanctions and the Lebanese financial collapse, as well as the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have contributed to “a twin humanitarian and economic crisis of epic proportions”, the Special Envoy for Syria told the Council today, giving a detailed report on the embattled country.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today released a report which says that fewer victims of trafficking are being identified even as the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises are increasing vulnerabilities to exploitation.

Marking peacekeeping’s seventy-fifth anniversary, the Peacekeeping Department is launching a campaign, Peace Begins with Me, which promotes understanding of challenges faced by communities in conflict, demonstrates peacekeeping’s impact and calls for a global movement for peace.

In Lebanon, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) donated 1,000 cholera testing kits, administered over 900,000 oral cholera vaccines and provided refrigerators and solar panels to ensure continuous access to electricity in support of the Ministry of Public Health’s efforts to combat the cholera outbreak which began in October.

In Madagascar, the United Nations team led by Resident Coordinator Issa Sanogo reports it has aided 53,000 households and farmers impacted by ongoing drought in the south by providing over 30 water tanks and constructing irrigation channels. The World Food Programme is distributing food and cash to over one million people.

In the Central African Republic, the United Nations peacekeeping mission there launched a countrywide campaign on 16 January to promote efforts to protect civilians and to build confidence between the internal security forces and the population.

A report released today by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) notes that children from the poorest households benefit the least from national public education funding. According to the report, children living in poverty are less likely to have access to school and drop out sooner.

In Nigeria, due to continued conflict, climate change, inflation and rising food prices nearly 25 million people are at risk of hunger between June and August, if urgent action is not taken, according to a food and nutrition analysis by Nigeria’s Government in partnership with the United Nations.