The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that at least 573,000 children under the age of five are at risk of suffering from malnutrition in Malawi. UNICEF noted that the country is still grappling with the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy, with over 650,000 people internally displaced.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day for Biological Diversity, observed on 22 May:

In Myanmar, 5.4 million people are expected to have been in the path of Cyclone Mocha – one of the strongest to ever hit the country – in Rakhine and in the north-west. Given the high risk of waterborne and communicable diseases, humanitarian agencies will need access to people impacted by the cyclone, as well as expedited travel authorizations and customs clearances for supplies.

Two months after Tropical Cyclone Freddy devastated Malawi, United Nations agencies continue to support the Government-led response. While humanitarian assistance has reached 1.4 million people, more funding is needed to continue this work and the flash appeal — only 21 per cent funded — is asking for $116 million.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, observed on 17 May:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today issued a fact-finding report on Mali which concluded that there are strong indications that more than 500 people were killed in March 2022 by Malian troops and foreign military personnel in the village of Moura in the Mopti region of central Mali.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, observed on 17 May:

In Sudan, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are increasing their response to the current crisis. With food insecurity expected to surge to record levels, affecting two fifths of the population, the World Food Programme plans to scale up emergency assistance to some 4.9 million people in the coming months.

The World Food Programme reports that, starting next month, it will suspend assistance for over 200,000 people in Palestine — 60 per cent of its caseload — due to severe funding shortfalls. It urgently needs $51 million to continue providing life-saving food and cash aid to 350,000 Palestinians until the end of this year.

In Nigeria, where severe hunger will affect an estimated 4.3 million people in conflict-affected areas between June and August, the World Food Programme is increasing emergency food and nutrition aid and the United Nations Children’s Fund is giving therapeutic treatment to severely wasted children.