Humanitarian issues

Today at the G20 environment and energy ministers meeting in Naples, Italy, Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, called upon countries to provide the leadership needed to hold the global average temperature rise as close to 1.5°C as possible.

Hundreds of thousands of people in southern Madagascar continue to suffer one of the worst droughts the region has faced in more than 40 years.  Severe lack of rain and sandstorms have made it nearly impossible to grow food, and at least 1.31 million people in the Grand Sud are severely food insecure.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) reports significant job losses and deteriorated labour market conditions in Myanmar since the military takeover.  ILO says employment contracted by an estimated 6 per cent in the second quarter of 2021, compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, reflecting 1.2 million job losses.

The World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have launched a new project to improve emergency response to health crises.   The project, called INITIATE², will develop solutions such as disease-specific field facilities and kits and train logistics and health responders on their use.

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon expressed deep regret over the inability of Lebanon’s leaders to reach agreement on the formation of a new Government that is urgently needed to address the country’s numerous challenges.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) cited a tight window for farmers in hunger-stricken northern Ethiopia to get crops in the ground ahead of upcoming seasonal rains.  It appealed for $30 million in urgent support, noting that farmers have seen seeds and animals looted and credit lines disappear.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan as escalating conflict has displaced 270,000 Afghans inside the country since January, bringing the total uprooted population to more than 3.5 million.  UNHCR said the needs of those who have fled are “suddenly acute”.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Humanitarian officials in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said the entry of goods into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing remains limited, and some 250,000 people are still without regular access to piped water.  They called for a return to the predictable entry of goods and the easing of movement restrictions.

The following statement was issued by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres: