In progress at UNHQ

Niger


In Lebanon, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) donated 1,000 cholera testing kits, administered over 900,000 oral cholera vaccines and provided refrigerators and solar panels to ensure continuous access to electricity in support of the Ministry of Public Health’s efforts to combat the cholera outbreak which began in October.

In Niger, the situation remains tense in the Tillaberi region along the border with Burkina Faso following several clashes.  Since 1 May, 51 civilians have been killed.  The United Nations and its partners are working to increase access to the affected border areas, with food security likely to worsen.

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.

Today is the one-month anniversary of the volcano and tsunami in Tonga.  Sanaka Samarasinha, United Nations Resident Coordinator, reiterated the Organization’s solidarity with the people of Tonga, where approximately 85 per cent of the population was impacted and more than 2,500 people have been internally displaced.

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.