United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Tressa Rae Finerty of the United States as Deputy High Commissioner, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Edem Wosornu of Ghana as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Ms. Wosornu will succeed Ruvendrini Menikdiwela of Sri Lanka, to whom both the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Refugees are grateful for her dedicated service to the refugee cause.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Antón Leis García of Spain as Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, has allocated up to $60 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to expedite the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the wider region. A first tranche of $10 million has just been released for activities.
In Sudan, the UN and aid partners are rushing to contain multiple disease outbreaks despite insecurity and limited access. The World Health Organization is responding to a suspected outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea in West Kordofan State, where there are over 100 suspected cases and dozens of associated deaths.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking to the press, said there are almost 600 suspected Ebola cases and 139 suspected fatalities reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. He has released an additional $3.4 million from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies, bringing the total to $3.9 million.
In Uganda, the UN system has already repurposed $3.5 million in existing resources to support the Government-led response to contain the Ebola outbreak and stop its further spread. The World Health Organization is supporting greater surveillance, contact tracing, testing, clinical care and cross-border preparedness.
In Ukraine, humanitarian convoys continue to reach hard-to-access communities near the front line, even as heavy bombardment in urban centres across the east are causing civilian casualties, including among first responders. In the last two days, the UN and its partners delivered two convoys to the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.
In Ukraine, at least three drone strikes in the last week hit humanitarian vehicles in the city of Kherson, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports. Two incidents involved the same local non-governmental organization, while another impacted a different organization delivering food.
