With Iraq’s deep political and security challenges compounded by the onset of COVID-19 and plummeting oil prices, the newly formed Government must rise to meet people’s legitimate aspirations for a stable, more inclusive future, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council in a 12 May videoconference meeting.
The World Health Organization (WHO) marked the fortieth anniversary of the eradication of smallpox — the first and only human disease eliminated globally through international collaboration — which killed 300 million people in the twentieth century. Many of the tools used against smallpox are now combating COVID-19.
The following statement was issued by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
Ahead of Mother’s Day — observed in May in nearly 130 countries — the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is spotlighting ways that COVID-19 has recast motherhood and overwhelmed health facilities. It is calling on Governments to help pregnant women receive check-ups and delivery care.
The Head of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic, Mankeur Ndiaye, condemned as unacceptable an attack on blue helmets in the city of Grimari, which killed a member of the Burundian contingent, as peacekeepers were trying to stop an assault by armed members of an anti-Balaka group.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
An estimated 14,000 people in Burkina Faso have fled their homes in the past 17 days due to recent violence, bringing the number of internally displaced to 780,000, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports. It is increasing emergency supplies and protection for affected populations.
The desert locust situation in the Horn of Africa remains extremely alarming, as new swarms form, causing an unprecedented threat to food security, humanitarian colleagues report. The Food and Agriculture Organization has increased its appeal to $138 million to support regional aerial and ground control operations.
United Nations agencies and their partners launched an appeal today for $877 million to help some 855,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar who are in Bangladesh, as well as more than 444,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in communities generously hosting those refugees. More than half will fund vital services.
Iraq today stands at a crossroads that could lead to a safe, prosperous future, even as it continues to grapple with complex political dynamics and the long echoes of war, the senior United Nations official in Baghdad told the Security Council today.
