South Sudan

Today on International Nurses Day, the World Health Organization remind us that as the world struggles to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic there is an urgent shortage of nurses worldwide. Almost 6 million more are needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Despite improving relations between Sudan and South Sudan, progress is unlikely in determining the final status of the Abyei Area in the short to medium term, especially considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council during a 28 April videoconference meeting.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in partnership with Ted-Ed, today launched an online “Earth School” offering free educational content for students, parents and teachers who are currently at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  Its videos, reading materials and activities will be translated into 10 languages.

United Nations humanitarian agencies and their partners are asking donors for an initial $350 million to rapidly scale up logistics services, aimed at supporting countries disproportionately affected by cancelled flights and disrupted supply routes to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new report by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) shows that as of 6 April, 96 per cent of all worldwide destinations have introduced travel restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Millions of jobs could be lost in the sector.

The Secretary-General addressed the Group of 20 virtual summit on the COVID-19 pandemic, stressing that transmission of the virus must be suppressed as quickly as possible through a coordinated response mechanism guided by the World Health Organization (WHO).

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Guang Cong of China as his new Deputy Special Representative (Political) for South Sudan and Deputy Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said today that broad sectoral sanctions should urgently be re-evaluated in countries facing the COVID-19 pandemic.  Such measures could have a potentially debilitating impact on the health sector and human rights, she added. 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees airlifted emergency relief items to Chad on 19 March, responding to the humanitarian needs of some 10,000 Sudanese refugees.  Clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur region since late 2019 have forced more than 16,000 people, mostly women and children, to cross the border into Chad.

The Head of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic, Mankeur Ndiaye, condemned as unacceptable an attack on blue helmets in the city of Grimari, which killed a member of the Burundian contingent, as peacekeepers were trying to stop an assault by armed members of an anti-Balaka group.