Uganda

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary‑General António Guterres:

Humanitarian partners in Honduras launched a flash appeal for $69.2 million to help the Government respond to the needs of 450,000 vulnerable people affected by Hurricane Eta, which caused catastrophic damage.  Given the recent new tropical storm Iota, the plan will be updated following assessments of its impact.

Despite steady progress against tuberculosis in many countries before the COVID-19 pandemic — with a 9 per cent reduction in incidence and a 14 per cent drop in deaths between 2015 and 2019 — a World Health Organization report released today warns that global prevention and treatment targets are likely to be missed.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that it is providing tents, water, tanks and toilets to the more than 3,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo that arrived in north-western Uganda last week during a temporary opening of two border crossing points.

In Kenya, the World Food Programme (WFP) has launched cash transfers and nutrition support for nearly 280,000 people struggling to survive from the impact of the virus on informal settlements in Nairobi.

The Secretary-General launched a new report highlighting the centrality of human rights to COVID-19 response and recovery alongside recommendations, saying the pandemic is fast becoming a human rights crisis exposing deep weaknesses in public service delivery that must be addressed.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Today is International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.  According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), this observance is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples.

Noting that 2019 will mark 40 years of conflict in Afghanistan, the United Nations Children’s Fund says 2018 has been especially challenging.  A spike in violence, unprecedented drought and poverty has taken a disproportionate toll on children:  5,000 were killed or maimed in the first three quarters, compared to all of 2017.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights says today that, three months after the violence started in Nicaragua, an estimated 280 people have died and 1,830 have been injured, in violence overwhelmingly perpetrated by the State and by pro-Government armed elements.  Those killed include at least 19 police officers.