Humanitarian issues

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released a report showing that an estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis in 2021, an increase of 4.5 per cent from 2020. According to the report, 1.6 million people died from tuberculosis in 2021, including 187,000 HIV-positive people.

A report by the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change shows that countries are bending the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions downward, but the report underscores that these efforts remain insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of the century.

Against the backdrop of political stalemate and a worsening security and humanitarian situation, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, briefing the Security Council today, called on all parties to protect civilians and to strive for a complete nationwide ceasefire as the Syrian people inch towards another winter surrounded by armed conflict.

In Haiti, suspected cholera cases have doubled over the past few days to nearly 2,000. In Cité Soleil, the outbreak’s epicentre, the United Nations Children’s Fund has begun delivering potable water to 1,000 people and the World Food Programme brought food to 6,000 of the most vulnerable people over the weekend.

In Lebanon, the World Health Organization, UN Refugee Agency and the United Nations Children’s Fund are coordinating efforts, and the United Nations is seeking $43 million more over the next three months to address the cholera outbreak. As of 22 October, there have been a reported 239 confirmed cases and 10 deaths.

In Pakistan, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is warning today that in the flood-impacted areas of Sindh and Balochistan, more than 1 in 9 children under 5 admitted to health facilities are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

In the Security Council’s open debate on strengthening women’s resilience and leadership as a path to peace in regions plagued by armed groups, the Deputy Secretary-General said that the international community cannot separate global peace’s perilous state from the effects of patriarchy and the silencing of women’s voices.

The World Health Organization’s new report noted that, in this decade, almost 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other noncommunicable diseases due to physical inactivity. If Governments do not urgently encourage more physical activity, costs for this could reach $27 billion annually.

The latest Every Woman Every Child progress report was released today, and it shows that women’s and children’s health has suffered globally, as the impacts of conflict, the pandemic and climate change have converged with devastating impacts.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today released a report which says plastics are accumulating in the world’s soil at a high rate. The report found that plastics used extensively in farming — from plastic coated fertilizers to mulch film — are contaminating the soil and potentially threatening food security.