Venezuela

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

Fourteen new cases of Ebola were reported in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the largest one-day increase since the beginning of the outbreak on 1 August 2018, United Nations humanitarian affairs officials reported yesterday. Nine of the new cases were detected near Butembo, a city of a million inhabitants.

The High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration launched their regional refugee and migrant response plan for Venezuela, the first of its kind in the Americas.  The plan will respond to the needs of Venezuelans on the move, and for next year require $378 million.

The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced today that the first ever multi-drug trial for the treatment of Ebola has begun.  World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called it an important step to finding a treatment that will save lives.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration announced today that the number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela around the world has reached 3 million.  A little more than a million are in Colombia and Peru is hosting half a million.

Over 1 million people remain affected by Typhoon Mangkhut, which hit the Philippines on 15 September and some 148,000 people remain in evacuation centres or with host families, humanitarian colleagues report. The United Nations and partners are working with the Government to assess and distribute emergency aid.

The Government of Zimbabwe has declared a state of emergency following a cholera outbreak in the capital, Harare, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports.  As of this morning, there have been more than 4,000 suspected cases, including 58 confirmed cases, and 25 cholera-related deaths.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a joint United Nations‑Ministry of Health team is taking action to combat the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu Province, which has killed 61 people as of 21 August.  Since 8 August, more than 2,000 people have been vaccinated.

Leading the response to the regional refugee crisis related to the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration have launched regional appeals of $46 million and $32 million respectively to help Governments and host communities.

The Food and Agriculture Organization today warned that Fall Armyworm could threaten the livelihoods of millions of small‑scale farmers in Asia — where it’s been found for the first time — as this invasive pest is highly likely to spread further from India.