The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today awarded the Population Award for an individual to its youngest‑ever recipient, Emma Theofelus, a 25-year-old Parliamentarian from Namibia for her work advocating for women’s empowerment and adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
In progress at UNHQ
Myanmar
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today released new data showing that while reported numbers of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe are fewer than in 2015, journeys are becoming more fatal.
The World Investment Report 2022 was released today by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It shows that flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2021. But, the report warns that the prospects for 2022 are grimmer.
The Secretary-General condemned the attack in Mali which killed two peacekeepers and injured two others after their vehicle — an armoured personnel carrier — hit an improvised explosive device outside of the town of Douentza. Despite such challenging circumstances, United Nations personnel are continuing their mandated work.
In northern Ethiopia, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are continuing to provide assistance across Tigray, Afar and Amhara. Since the resumption of convoys at the beginning of April, 875 trucks have arrived in Tigray, carrying more than 32,800 tons of supplies, including food.
More than 1,000 migrants have died or disappeared since 2014 while trying to leave East Africa and the Horn of Africa, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says. Most were travelling to the Arabian Peninsula or South Africa. Migrants face violence, abandonment by smugglers, limited access to medical care and detention, among other dangers.
Food and nutrition aid has reached 2.1 million people in Myanmar during the first quarter of 2022, the World Food Programme (WFP) says. WFP hopes to reach at least 4 million of the country’s most food-insecure and vulnerable people this year, subject to availability of resources and access to those in need, and calls for unimpeded humanitarian access.
The United Nations-Energy Plan of Action Towards 2025 was launched today, presenting collective action by 30 United Nations entities and international organizations aiming to enable 500 million more people to gain access to electricity, and to create 30 million jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency, among other targets.
In Haiti, clashes resumed between gangs in Port-au-Prince, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets, violence has displaced more than 1,200 people. Dozens of houses were burned and a hospital in Marin was looted.
Over 1 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have received one or more doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine thanks to a pilot programme coordinated by the World Health Organization. The agency estimates that, if widely deployed, the vaccine could save the lives of an additional 40,000 to 80,000 children annually.