Myanmar

With reports that the Omicron variant has been detected in Botswana, the United Nations team is increasing its support for the Government’s COVID-19 response, including by providing medical and protective equipment.  To date, 75 per cent of people in the country have received at least one dose, while 68 per cent are fully vaccinated.

International Labour Organization (ILO) officials in Myanmar called on employers to help prevent workplace violence and harassment.  The organization has received increased reports of such incidents, particularly among women and vulnerable groups, since the military takeover in February and amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Responding to urgent and growing humanitarian needs in northern Ethiopia, almost 40 trucks with food and other relief supplies from the United Nations and aid partners departed Monday for Tigray, the first convoy since mid-October, and the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service resumed flights to Mekelle.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), non-performing loans in Afghanistan’s credit market have increased from around 30 per cent at the end of 2020 to 57 per cent in September 2021.  As the massive withdrawal of savings continues, UNDP projects that the deposits’ base could shrink by as much as 40 per cent by year-end.

United Nations officials in Myanmar report worsening humanitarian conditions due to conflict, political instability and COVID-19 since the military seized control of the Government in February.  More than 230,000 people have been displaced since then, with food running desperately short in some host communities.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Henrietta Fore voiced deep concern over reports that child marriage in Afghanistan is on the rise, with families offering daughters as young as 20 days old for future marriage in return for a dowry.  Some 28 per cent of Afghan women aged 15–49 were married before 18.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez (Mexico):

The World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that the number of people teetering on the edge of famine in 43 countries has risen from 42 to 45 million people, as acute hunger spikes around the world.  The agency said needs are vastly surpassing available resources at a time when traditional funding streams are overstretched.

The Secretary-General — in observance of International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, on 2 November — stated that 62 journalists were killed for doing their jobs in 2020.  Noting that the number of media workers killed outside conflict zones has risen in recent years, he urged leaders to demonstrate the political will needed to investigate and prosecute these crimes.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the situation in the northern part of Ethiopia is rapidly deteriorating, amid fighting in and around Dessie and Kombolcha in the Amhara region, which led to large-scale displacement and increasing humanitarian needs.  The two towns were already hosting a large number of displaced people from nearby areas.