Mozambique

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.

Relief organizations in Mozambique are working to contain a cholera outbreak in the north of the country after water sources were contaminated and health clinics damaged by Cyclone Kenneth, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Unfolding developments in Benin are under close watch following the 28 April legislative elections, from which opposition parties were barred.  Noting with concern the ongoing tensions and unrest, the United Nations calls upon all Beninese to exercise maximum restraint and resolve differences through dialogue.

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

This week is World Immunization Week, and UNICEF is highlighting the dangers of the global rise in measles cases.  Executive Director Henrietta Fore said today:  “If we are serious about averting the spread of this dangerous but preventable disease, we need to vaccinate every child, in rich and poor countries alike.”

High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet today strongly condemned the beheading of 37 men in Saudi Arabia, most of them Shi’a Muslims, despite the repeated appeals by the United Nations about the lack of due process and fair trial guarantees.  She appealed to the authorities to halt pending executions.

The World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Global Vaccine Alliance and the Sudanese Ministry of Health today launched a vaccination campaign in Sudan to vaccinate over 11 million children against measles and polio.  Measles is the third largest cause of mortality in infants in Sudan.

Jamie McGoldrick, Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, calls upon all parties to avoid further deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the “Great March of Return” demonstrations in the enclave.

The following statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was issued today:

A record $7 billion to support millions of people in need of humanitarian aid in Syria, as well as for refugees and host communities in neighbouring countries, was pledged at the donors’ conference in Brussels on 14 March.