A convoy of five trucks today reached the front-line community of Huliaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine where repeated shelling has destroyed or damaged many homes, and delivered shelter materials, solar lamps, medicines and other medical and hygiene supplies to the town’s remaining 3,000 people, one sixth of the population.
In progress at UNHQ
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United Nations humanitarian partners in Somalia have reported an early start to the country’s annual rainy season, which has brought flash floods, killing 14 people, destroying property and displacing thousands. The rains also come amid several disease outbreaks, including cholera, which are now likely to increase.
A joint operation between the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and the country’s internal security forces has led to the arrest of Hussein Damboucha, regional commander of the armed group Front populaire pour la renaissance de la Centrafrique and member of the Coalition des Patriotes pour le Changement.
In Afghanistan, due to lack of funds, the World Food Programme (WFP) today said that it has been forced to drastically reduce critical lifesaving assistance in March to millions of vulnerable Afghanis. In March, at least 4 million people will receive just half of what they need to get by.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime today released its first-ever Global Report on Cocaine, noting that the global supply of cocaine has reached record levels, with coca cultivation soaring 35 per cent from 2020 to 2021. Demand for cocaine has also swelled with many regions showing a steady rise in cocaine users.
Following the two cyclones that hit Vanuatu in March, the United Nations resident coordinator has met with Government ministers, the Disaster Management Office and Organization staff to understand challenges, needs and ways the United Nations can further support recovery.
United Nations humanitarian partners are providing water, hygiene and sanitation services, and shelter materials to temporary displacement sites in Malawi, and food and water treatment chemicals to Mozambique, following the destruction wrought by Tropical Cyclone Freddy. Heavy rain and wind continue to hamper those operations.
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria strongly condemned the “shocking” ambush and killings of more than 30 civilians — fisherman, farmers and displaced persons — in Borno state, a reminder of the toll of more than 13 years of conflict in the region.
In Vienna, Jagjit Pavadia, President of the International Narcotics Control Board launched its Annual Report for 2022, which focuses on the trend towards legalizing the non-medical use of cannabis and analyses the various policy approaches from the perspective of the drug control conventions.
Six months after devastating floods struck Pakistan, the United Nations and its partners have reached more than 7 million people with food and other essential services, including life-saving interventions for children. Yet only 30 per cent of the Floods Response Plan has been funded so far.