Libya

An estimated 115 million boys around the world were married off as children, with one in five wed before they turned 15, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) first in-depth analysis of child grooms.  The Central African Republic had the highest prevalence, followed by Nicaragua and Madagascar.

Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Ursula Mueller, wrapping up a three-day visit to Madagascar, called for urgent action to tackle climate change, with increased investment to help address acute humanitarian needs, as well as their causes.  Some 1.3 million people in Madagascar are severely food insecure.

Two people have died, 2,000 people are displaced and an estimated 20,000 others are affected following recent heavy rains and flooding in south-western Libya, United Nations humanitarian officials report.  The floods have caused houses to collapse, closed roads and interrupted communications and electricity networks.

The United Nations is supporting the Government of Mozambique, which beginning today is convening a pledging conference for recovery and reconstruction in the wake of the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclones Idai and Kenneth.

Amid the clashes in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, 149 vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers from Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia, were safely evacuated today to Rome, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

A recent spike in clashes in north-western Nigeria has forced some 20,000 people to flee to neighbouring Niger since April, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today.  UNHCR is working closely with authorities in Niger to provide basic assistance and register these people.

Due to sporadic rainfall in Bangladesh’s Teknaf peninsula, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and aid partners will truck water in the coming days to 140,000 Rohingya refugees, where water rationing due to limited supply has raised concern about the potential for water-borne diseases.

Algeria and Argentina have been certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as being malaria-free.  The head of WHO said today that the nations have eliminated malaria thanks to the unwavering commitment and perseverance of the people and leaders of both countries.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that the number of attacks on schools in eastern Ukraine increased four-fold during the first four months of 2019, versus the same period in 2018, with schools attacked 12 times between January and April.

Libya is on the verge of a civil war that could split the country permanently, the senior United Nations official in that country warned the Security Council today, as that body’s members sounded the alarm over the rapid proliferation of weapons and the prospect of a major humanitarian catastrophe.