Lebanon

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UN peacekeepers have resumed Operation Secure Harvest, patrolling a major route in Ituri province to ensure a safe environment for the harvest season and deter potential attacks against farmers and civilians.

Led by Resident Coordinator Pauline Tamesis, the UN is supporting Viet Nam’s efforts to respond to one of the most damaging typhoon seasons in decades. Between May and early October, 11 typhoons and tropical depressions, including Bualoi and Matmo, struck within days of each other, affecting over a million people across six provinces.

A new report from the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), titled “At Risk and Underfunded”, warns that sweeping aid cuts are jeopardizing the organizations essential to ending violence against women and girls.

In South Sudan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that nearly 1 million people are now affected by the devastating floods in the country. As of 23 October, severe and widespread flooding has impacted more than 960,000 people in six states.

The Food and Agriculture Organization today released a report showing that deforestation has slowed in all of the world’s regions in the last decade. More than half of forests are now covered by long-term management plans, and one fifth are within legally established protected areas.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Vassily A. Nebenzia (Russian Federation):

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Oxford University’s Poverty and Human Initiative released today a report showing that nearly 8 in 10 people living in multidimensional poverty — this is 887 million people out of 1.1 billion globally — are exposed to climate hazards such as extreme heat, flooding and drought.

As of the end of September, less than one quarter of the over $45.3 billion needed to support life-saving action around the world this year had been received, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns. This is 40 per cent less compared to the same time last year.

The World Food Programme (WFP) warned that women, children and displaced families are hardest hit by Haiti’s prolonged crisis, which is driving hunger and malnutrition. A record of 5.7 million people - 51 per cent of the population - are experiencing acute levels of hunger, a 3 per cent increase from last year.

In Gaza, the ceasefire announcement has generated new hope for relief at last, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports. Within minutes of taking effect, thousands of people resumed movement north. The United Nations and its aid partners are ready to immediately scale up the humanitarian response.