Myanmar

Nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide, about 121 million a year, are unintended, a report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says, warning the Ukraine and other conflicts are expected to drive an increase through disruption of access to contraception and growing sexual violence.

United Nations staff in Myanmar report that civilians continue to suffer amid a worsening humanitarian crisis and continued fighting.  Nearly 890,000 people are displaced across the country, humanitarian needs are rising and aid workers face limited access, which is hampering the planned scale-up of assistance for 2022.

Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, strongly condemned today the continuing violence in the country that is impacting the safety of civilians and humanitarian workers and disrupts the delivery of aid and services to vulnerable people.  These appalling acts of violence must stop, she stressed.

In Ethiopia, fighting in the northern region of Afar continues to prevent the delivery of aid into neighbouring Tigray.  These clashes are also causing large-scale displacement and increasing humanitarian needs in Afar.

At least 10 people have died and more than 43,000 are displaced across 180 displacement sites as a result of Tropical Cyclone Batsirai, which made landfall on the east coast of Madagascar on 5 February.  The first aerial assessment took place today with a United Nations Humanitarian Air Service flight.

World Wetlands Day, observed on 2 February, is being celebrated under the theme “Wetlands Action for People and Nature”, highlighting the importance of actions to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands for human and planetary health.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Vassily A. Nebenzia (Russian Federation):

In tsunami-hit Tonga, the United Nations continues to support the recovery, providing satellite phones for Government staff to communicate while the underground communications cable undergoes repairs.  On Tongatapu, the main island, 90 per cent of power has been restored and aid distribution continues.

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

On Myanmar, nearly one year after the takeover, the High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the international community to intensify pressure on the military to stop its campaign of violence against the people of the country and to insist on the prompt restoration of civilian rule.