In Venezuela, a mass polio vaccination campaign for more than 3.1 million children under the age of five started today, led by the Ministry of Health, with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
In progress at UNHQ
Syria
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) warns today that the pace of progress to reduce new HIV infections, increase access to treatment and end AIDS-related deaths is slowing down. In 2018, for the first time, the global resources available for the AIDS response fell significantly by nearly $1 billion.
There have been unprecedented wildfires in the Arctic since the beginning of June, according to the World Meteorological Organization. In June alone, they emitted 50 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, an amount equivalent to Sweden’s annual carbon dioxide emissions.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have agreed to work together in implementing Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment — GLOBE. UNEP and GLOBE will cooperate on citizen science and in collecting and distributing environmental data.
A new Food and Agriculture Organization report finds that 41 countries — 31 of which are in Africa — require food assistance, as cyclone damage and rainfall deficits in 2019 caused significant agricultural production shortfalls in Southern Africa, and severe dryness in East Africa negatively affected harvests.
At its 82nd meeting, on 9 July 2019, the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, in connection with the examination of the second report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, agreed to convey the following messages through a public statement by the Chair of the Working Group:
The cholera outbreak in Yemen has reached more than 460,000 suspected cases in 2019, exceeding the 380,000 total suspected cases in all of 2018. While the United Nations and partners operate 1,200 treatment facilities, funding remains an urgent issue, with only 32 per cent of the $4.2 billion response plan met.
Following Sunday’s demonstrations in Sudan, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on the authorities to lift restrictions on the Internet and launch proper independent investigations into allegations of excessive use of force, specially attacks on hospitals.
The World Food Programme is scaling up its relief operation for conflict-displaced people in north-east Democratic Republic of the Congo, where renewed inter-ethnic violence has forced tens of thousands from their homes. The country faces the world’s second-largest hunger crisis after Yemen, with 13 million people food insecure.