#COVID-19

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohamed’s opening remarks at the Ministerial Roundtable on the Impact of COVID-19 on the Africa Energy Sector: Challenges and Opportunities, today:

In the biggest humanitarian undertaking in its history, the World Food Programme (WFP) plans to assist up to a record 138 million people.  WFP estimates the number of hungry people in the countries where it operates could reach 270 million by year’s end, up 82 per cent from before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

Experts briefing the Security Council during a 29 June videoconference meeting warned that cases of COVID-19 are likely to spread “like wildfire” amid Syria’s displaced millions — already suffering from hunger, spiking food prices and a health system decimated by war — while urging members to promptly renew the country’s crucial cross-border aid mechanism amid the pandemic.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the Global Goal:  Unite for Our Future Campaign, in New York today:

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohamed’s remarks to the Recover Better Together Action Forum, in New York today:

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in a new report that millions of children in Yemen could be pushed to the brink of starvation due to huge shortfalls in humanitarian aid funding amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  So far, the COVID-19 response is only 10 per cent funded, as UNICEF appeals for $53 million.

Following is the transcript of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ press conference, in New York today:

As leaders in Afghanistan prepare for long-anticipated talks with the Taliban, COVID-19 has cast a huge shadow over daily life and limited the ability of the United Nations Assistance Mission to fulfil its mandate, the Secretary-General’s top official in the country told the Security Council in a 25 June videoconference meeting.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohamed’s remarks, as delivered, at the high-level round table on disability and COVID-19, hosted by the Global Action on Disability Network today:

The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced an additional layer of complexity and concern to the existing issues facing the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including serious tensions within the governing coalition, ongoing humanitarian crises and more violence in the east of the country, the Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) told the Security Council during a 25 June videoconference meeting.