In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Food Programme today said it is energizing two key elements of its emergency operation to prevent famine in war-ravaged Kasaï: cash distributions to the most vulnerable and specialist support to check acute malnutrition in women and young children.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the United Nations human rights office released their annual report on the impact of armed conflict on civilians, finding that 10,453 civilians had lost their lives or suffered injuries in 2017. While down 9 per cent from 2016, casualties were caused mainly by suicide bombings.
Aid agencies launched the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan for Mali, seeking $263 million to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people. Some 4.1 million people in the country require aid in 2018, versus 3.8 million in 2017. More than 1 in 5 Malians are facing food insecurity this year.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have agreed with the United Nations on the modalities to transfer, by the end of March, $930 million in support of the 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan, according to Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has received four allegations of misconduct, including three allegations of sexual exploitation. These allegations involve military peacekeepers.
The World Food Programme is warning today that the twin scourges of another prolonged dry spell and an invasive crop-eating worm are set to sharply curtail harvests across southern Africa, driving millions of people into severe hunger.
The Food and Agriculture Organization launched a $1.06 billion appeal to help vulnerable communities in 26 countries fight hunger, seeking to reach 30 million people who rely on agriculture and have been affected by climate-related shocks, notably in Bangladesh, Somalia and Yemen.
Our humanitarian colleagues are concerned for the safety and protection of 2 million men, women and children living in Syria’s Idlib Governorate, where air strikes and shelling continue to be reported daily, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries, as well as the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Emergency fuel for critical facilities in Gaza will become exhausted within 10 days, the acting United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned today. Currently, the nearly 2 million Palestinian residents there receive electricity for no more than eight hours a day.
Civilian returns to Iraq’s newly accessible areas continue to increase since the conclusion of major counter‑Daesh military operations late last year; 3.2 million previously displaced people have now returned home, surpassing the total number of displaced in the country for the first time since the crisis began four years ago.