Humanitarian issues

A series of tropical cyclones have devastated areas in the Philippines, Viet Nam, Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic since early October, United Nations humanitarian officials report, noting that the Organization and partners are seeking $95 million to help nearly 675,000 displaced people.

In Somalia, flash floods have affected nearly 73,000 people, displacing more than 13,000 and causing four deaths, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports.  The United Nations and partners have mobilized pre-positioned supplies to help those affected and provided shelter to at least 6,000 people.

COVID-19 could push more people to move out of necessity, as hunger surges among migrant and displaced communities, the International Organization for Migration and the World Food Programme warn in a new report.  The World Bank expects a 14 per cent drop in remittances to low- and middle-income countries by 2021 which will impact food security.

Amid tensions in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the Secretary-General spoke to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and regional leaders, relaying his support.  United Nations staff will continue to deliver assistance to over 2 million people in Tigray, where thousands are also affected by COVID-19 and a desert locust infestation.

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

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched the Food Coalition, a multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral alliance that aims to ensure global food access and increase the resilience of agri-food systems.  The pandemic could add 132 million more people to the world's undernourished in 2020, FAO says, on top of the 690 million hungry people in 2019.

In Nicaragua, UNICEF and its partners have prepositioned emergency supplies and developed a joint response plan to address the needs of families impacted by Hurricane Eta, including 10,000 people evacuated from the northern coast, while the World Food Programme has positioned 80 metric tons of food assistance in the region.

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

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that following unprecedented floods in Sudan, affecting 875,000 people, a secondary health emergency has put 4.5 million at risk of vector-borne diseases.  Efforts are now addressing supply needs, amid funding shortages in the Humanitarian Response Plan.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the Central Sahel Conference, today: