The World Food Programme (WFP) said that, in September, it started delivering emergency relief food assistance to communities in regions bordering war-torn Tigray. According to WFP, across Ethiopia, more than 13.6 million people are estimated to be food insecure due to a number of factors.
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About 540,000 children in the area impacted by last month’s earthquake in Haiti now face the possibility that water-borne diseases will re-emerge, UNICEF warns. The agency is working with Haitian authorities and civil society partners to improve access to water and sanitation, with the aim of reaching 500,000 people.
The Office for Children and Armed Conflict says the United Nations and the Plateforme coalition of armed movements in Mali signed new action plans by which the latter committed to release all child recruits, end military use of schools, and guarantee unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to all children.
Weather-related disasters have risen five-fold since 1970, killing $2 million people, mostly in developing countries, and causing $3.64 trillion in losses, the World Meteorological Organization reported today. However, the number of deaths fell significantly thanks to better early warning systems and disaster management.
The United Nations observed the first International Day of People of African Descent on 31 August. The Secretary-General said the Day is a long overdue recognition of the profound injustices and systemic discrimination that people of African descent have endured for centuries, and celebrates their contributions to every field of human endeavour.
At least 527 civilians were killed, injured, abducted or just disappeared, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) says in its quarterly report on trends in human rights violations and abuses, an overall increase of more than 25 per cent from the first quarter.
A devastating combination of a severe drought – the worst in 40 years – sandstorms and pest infestations have led to crop losses of up to 60 per cent in Madagascar, where the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Grand Sud. People have resorted to eating locusts, raw red cactus fruits or wild leaves.
The Secretary-General will convene a high-level dialogue on energy on Friday, 24 September, under the auspices of the General Assembly. The dialogue, which will be held virtually, is an opportunity to mobilize action and cooperation to ensure that all people can access clean, affordable energy by 2030.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are concerned about the impact on children of new cases of the bubonic plague in the eastern province of Ituri. They say the plague has been reported in areas that had not seen a case in more than 15 years.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that the first day of school has been indefinitely postponed for 140 million first-time students around the world, due to the pandemic. The consequences of school closures – notably learning loss, heightened risk of dropping out and child labour – will be felt by the youngest learners.