Nigeria

Today marks the International Day of the Girl Child.  Under the 2018 theme “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force”, it celebrates today’s generation of girls preparing to enter a world of work being transformed by innovation and automation.  In his message, the Secretary-General noted that his Youth2030 strategy aims to work with girls.

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

The Secretary-General extended his condolences on Sunday to the Government of Haiti and the families of the victims of the earthquake that struck north of Port-de-Paix.  The United Nations and its partners are helping the Government assess the needs of the population impacted by the quake.

In Madagascar, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says 31 cases of plague, including six confirmed cases and six deaths, have been reported as of 30 September. There is concern that without early action, the outbreak could spread and reach emergency levels.

Amid Chad’s worst nutrition crisis, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator will visit a centre in N’Djamena to highlight joint aid efforts.  They will also travel to Borno State, Nigeria, to visit a site for internally displaced persons.

Relentless conflict and insecurity during South Sudan’s annual lean season have pushed 6.1 million people —  nearly 60 per cent of the population – into extreme hunger, the Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Food Programme say in a new report.

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

An estimated 6.3 million children under the age of 15 died in 2017, mostly of preventable causes, according to new mortality estimates released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Division and the World Bank Group.

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

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that volcanic activity on Vanuatu’s Ambae Island, which has a population of more than 10,000 people, has intensified in the last few weeks.  The Vanuatu Council of Ministers has called for the immediate compulsory evacuation of Ambae residents to the neighbouring island of Maewo.