In Haiti, the UN’s humanitarian country team is sounding the alarm about the need for enhanced preparedness ahead of the Atlantic hurricane season. Amid severe funding shortfalls, contingency stocks are at their lowest levels ever, as 5.7 million people face severe food insecurity.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Day, observed on 27 June:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, observed on 26 June:

In Burkina Faso, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator today has allocated $5.9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to address the most urgent needs of displaced people in the country. The new funding will be used to scale up life-saving assistance including food and shelter.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for International Day of the Seafarer, observed on 25 June:

Women in Afghanistan are falling significantly behind global standards for human development, a UN-Women report released today states. The country has the second-widest gender gap in the world, with a 76 per cent disparity between women’s and men’s outcomes in health, education, financial inclusion and decision-making.

The latest “Hunger Hotspots” report, released by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), projects a serious increase in acute food insecurity in 13 countries and territories in the next five months. Sudan, Palestine, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali are hotspots of the highest concern.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for United Nations Public Service Day, observed on 23 June:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to mark the 100-day countdown to the International Day of Peace, observed on 21 September:

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, François Batalingaya, said today the country is in crisis with the east reaching a breaking point. Floods impacted nearly 2 million people last year; 3 million people are struggling to feed themselves. The $1.4 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 9 per cent funded.