The Joint Coordination Centre was inaugurated today in Istanbul with Ukraine, Russian Federation, Türkiye and United Nations representatives. The Centre will facilitate implementing the Black Sea Grain Initiative on allowing ships to exporting grain and related foodstuffs from Ukraine.
Mali
In Burundi, the United Nations has allocated $1 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to help 340,000 people in areas affected by Rift Valley fever. The viral disease primarily affects livestock, a large component of the economy which accounts for 14 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.
Today marks the first Kiswahili Language Day. With more than 200 million speakers, Kiswahili is one of the most widely used languages of African origin, and the most widely spoken language in sub-Saharan Africa.
SG/SM/21365
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
In Sri Lanka, the World Food Programme (WFP) today said that 3 in 10 households are food insecure, according to its latest food security assessment. Food inflation is alarmingly high. This month there was a 57 per cent increase in food prices, which has crippled the population’s ability to put food on the table.
SG/SM/21363
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today released research that says nearly a third of all women in developing countries become mothers during adolescence.
SC/14958
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Ronaldo Costa Filho (Brazil):
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) today released a report which says that rapid urbanization was only temporarily delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the global urban population back on track to grow by another 2.2 billion souls by 2050.
SC/14953
Amid a shifting political and security landscape in Africa’s Sahel region, the Security Council today decided to renew the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) for another year, while calling for an assessment of its cooperation with the host country’s authorities, the challenges it faces and options for its reco