Today is the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula. The childbirth injury is a condition that can lead to infections, kidney disease, painful sores, infertility and even death. It is treatable and, more importantly, it is preventable.

Children in the Horn of Africa are living through an unprecedented large-scale crisis of hunger, displacement, water scarcity and insecurity, the United Nations Children’s Fund warned today. Over 7 million under the age of 5 remain malnourished and over 1.9 million are at risk of dying from severe malnutrition.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that at least 573,000 children under the age of five are at risk of suffering from malnutrition in Malawi. UNICEF noted that the country is still grappling with the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy, with over 650,000 people internally displaced.

In Sudan, the World Food Programme says it has now reached over 300,000 people since restarting emergency food distributions there two weeks ago. Two cargo planes from the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service carrying critical supplies for United Nations agencies and aid partners have arrived in Port Sudan.

In Myanmar, 5.4 million people are expected to have been in the path of Cyclone Mocha – one of the strongest to ever hit the country – in Rakhine and in the north-west. Given the high risk of waterborne and communicable diseases, humanitarian agencies will need access to people impacted by the cyclone, as well as expedited travel authorizations and customs clearances for supplies.

Two months after Tropical Cyclone Freddy devastated Malawi, United Nations agencies continue to support the Government-led response. While humanitarian assistance has reached 1.4 million people, more funding is needed to continue this work and the flash appeal — only 21 per cent funded — is asking for $116 million.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today issued a fact-finding report on Mali which concluded that there are strong indications that more than 500 people were killed in March 2022 by Malian troops and foreign military personnel in the village of Moura in the Mopti region of central Mali.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths visited Port Sudan today to reaffirm the UN’s commitment to meet the Sudanese people’s humanitarian needs. In calls with Generals Abdelfattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, he stressed aid must reach everyone in need.

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

In Vanuatu, the World Food Programme’s Pacific Humanitarian Air Service today transported 15 metric tons of critical medical and food supplies for over 250,000 people, about 80 per cent of the population, that have been impacted by the two category 4 cyclones and earthquakes that hit the country in early March.