Ukraine

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today warned that three consecutive years of severe drought in the Grand Sud of Madagascar have led to the country’s worst food crisis in 20 years, exacerbating the vulnerabilities of already poor populations.

In Chad, torrential rains have killed 22 people and destroyed more than 2,000 hectares of farmland since June. The United Nations, along with its partners, are supporting the Government in providing emergency assistance of food, shelter, malaria management and other critical help.

The Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) just completed a visit to Kidal, where he met with officials and other stakeholders. Discussions focused on means of improving cooperation and supporting the acceleration of the implementation of the Peace Agreement.

A United Nations-chartered vessel carrying the first shipment of humanitarian food under the Black Sea Grain Initiative is expected to berth soon at Ukraine’s Yuzhny (Pivdennyi) port to collect Ukrainian wheat purchased by the World Food Programme in support of the drought-stricken Horn of Africa where there is risk of famine.

The situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has deteriorated rapidly to the point of becoming “very alarming”, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi warned the Security Council today, in a meeting requested by the Russian Federation and marked by resounding calls to allow the Agency’s technical experts to visit the area to address mounting safety concerns.

In Senegal, the Food and Agriculture Organization, UN-Women and United Nations Population Fund are helping national authorities tackle the effects of fuel and food price hikes due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and climate change, with a joint programme benefiting over 14,000 food-insecure households in eight regions.

The ceasefire in Gaza, brokered by the United Nations and Egypt, still holds. Humanitarian partners are responding to the needs of affected families and the United Nation Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees is providing services, as usual. Meanwhile, Israel has reopened the crossings with Gaza yesterday.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today launched an appeal for $10.7 million to deliver life-saving health care in the next six months to over 2 million women and girls in Sri Lanka, where the health system risks collapsing amid debilitating power shortages and a lack of critical supplies and equipment.

In Mauritius and the Seychelles, the United Nations is ramping up its support to authorities to address the impacts of the rising costs of fertilizers. This is urgent for both countries, which are currently 100 per cent dependent on imported chemical fertilizers.

The Secretary-General expressed his concern about legal actions being carried out against justice officials in Guatemala.  He is also following recent developments regarding the arrest of José Rubén Zamora, a journalist and founder of a newspaper that has played an important role in exposing corruption.