The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have identified 155 children orphaned or left unaccompanied as a result of the latest Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the agency reports. The outbreak has claimed 97 lives, according to the World Health Organization.
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Over 1 million people remain affected by Typhoon Mangkhut, which hit the Philippines on 15 September and some 148,000 people remain in evacuation centres or with host families, humanitarian colleagues report. The United Nations and partners are working with the Government to assess and distribute emergency aid.
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.
A new report released today says that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) mobilized $25 million to increase resilience and restore more than 800 buildings for the most vulnerable people in Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, which were hit by two powerful back-to-back hurricanes a year ago.
The Government of Zimbabwe has declared a state of emergency following a cholera outbreak in the capital, Harare, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports. As of this morning, there have been more than 4,000 suspected cases, including 58 confirmed cases, and 25 cholera-related deaths.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen today said the situation in Hodeidah has deteriorated over recent days and that families are terrified by the bombardment, shelling and air strikes. More than 25 per cent of children are malnourished; 900,000 people are desperate for food; and 90,000 pregnant women are at risk.
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, marking the United Nations Day for South‑South Cooperation, said that developing countries have become key actors to implement the Sustainable Development Agenda and that their leadership, practices and experiences have played a major part in global transformation.
The Secretary-General, en route to Ghana for the memorial service for the late former Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, called Mr. Annan “a man who embodied United Nations values” and was a voice for the voiceless who did not shy away from the most challenging issues, but worked to bridge differences.
In Bangkok, the Climate Change Conference ended on 9 September with an urgent call for accelerated climate action. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary said that the Conference had resulted in “uneven progress” on the guidelines to implement the Paris Agreement.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) welcomed Qatar’s decision to end exit visa requirements for most of its migrant workers. ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said in a tweet that this is a “positive step towards decent work”, adding that the agency is committed to working with the Government of Qatar as it pursues further reforms. The Secretary-General adds his welcome to the voice of ILO.