Yemen

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

United Nations humanitarian colleagues in Madagascar report that food and nutrition security has improved, saying that since January, 1.1 million people in the Grand Sud region have been reached with critical assistance following large-scale humanitarian assistance in 2021 and this year.

The first commercial flight flew out of Yemen’s Sana’a International Airport to Cairo, Egypt today.  The flight is the seventh flight operating under the terms of the United Nations-brokered two-month nationwide truce and represents an important element of that truce.

Marking World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report highlighting the tobacco industry’s carbon footprint from production, processing and transporting tobacco, noting that it is equivalent to one fifth of the CO2 produced by the commercial airline industry each year.

In Niger, the situation remains tense in the Tillaberi region along the border with Burkina Faso following several clashes.  Since 1 May, 51 civilians have been killed.  The United Nations and its partners are working to increase access to the affected border areas, with food security likely to worsen.

A new report released today by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says most wealthy countries are creating unhealthy, dangerous and noxious conditions for children, not just within their borders but also across the world.

For the first time on record, the number of forcibly displaced people around the world had topped 100 million, propelled by the war in Ukraine and other conflicts, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports. 

The Secretary-General is concerned at reports of increased tension and violence in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast of Tajikistan, including reported loss of life. He calls for restraint and for all efforts to be made to resolve the current situation by peaceful means. The United Nations will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Food and nutrition aid has reached 2.1 million people in Myanmar during the first quarter of 2022, the World Food Programme (WFP) says.  WFP hopes to reach at least 4 million of the country’s most food-insecure and vulnerable people this year, subject to availability of resources and access to those in need, and calls for unimpeded humanitarian access.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the pledging event on the FSO Safer, at The Hague today: