Lebanon

The Federal Government of Ethiopia and the United Nations present in the country have signed an agreement to enable unimpeded, sustained and secure access for humanitarian personnel and services in areas under the control of the Federal Government in Tigray, along with the bordering areas of Amhara and Afar regions.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the International Conference in Support of the Lebanese People, held today:

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.

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.

Marking the twentieth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, the Secretary-General told the Security Council today that the world has a choice: continue down the path of increasing militarization, conflict and inter-generational losses or work towards greater inclusion and gender equality.

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.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced today it has been laying the groundwork for the rapid, safe and efficient delivery of the eventual COVID-19 vaccine by stockpiling syringes and other necessary equipment, in anticipation of delivering 1 billion syringes to support vaccination efforts in 2021.

The United Nations migration agency and the African Union launched their first‑ever report on African migration, showing that present-day African migration takes place mainly by land, not by sea, and that migrants’ destinations are overwhelmingly each other’s countries and not Europe or North America.

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