Yemen

The UN refugee agency today drew attention to a collapsing health situation among refugees and asylum-seekers at off-shore facilities in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, calling on the Government of Australia to urgently act to prevent a further tragedy to people forcibly transferred under its off-shore processing policy.

Today marks the International Day of the Girl Child.  Under the 2018 theme “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force”, it celebrates today’s generation of girls preparing to enter a world of work being transformed by innovation and automation.  In his message, the Secretary-General noted that his Youth2030 strategy aims to work with girls.

One week after the earthquake and tsunami that hit Central Sulawesi in Indonesia, the humanitarian country team has launched a $50 million response plan.  The United Nations resident coordinator there said the plan will provide immediate relief items, and the logistical support needed to provide aid to those in need.

The World Health Organization today launched its first global guidelines on sanitation and health, warning that the world will not achieve universal sanitation coverage by 2030 without comprehensive policy shifts and more investment.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have identified 155 children orphaned or left unaccompanied as a result of the latest Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the agency reports.  The outbreak has claimed 97 lives, according to the World Health Organization.

Against a “bleak” landscape in Yemen marred by a worsening humanitarian crisis, intensified fighting and attacks cutting off vital food and trade routes, the international community must take swift, concerted action to prevent a widespread famine, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs told the Security Council today.

A new report released today says that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) mobilized $25 million to increase resilience and restore more than 800 buildings for the most vulnerable people in Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, which were hit by two powerful back-to-back hurricanes a year ago.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen today said the situation in Hodeidah has deteriorated over recent days and that families are terrified by the bombardment, shelling and air strikes.  More than 25 per cent of children are malnourished; 900,000 people are desperate for food; and 90,000 pregnant women are at risk.

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, marking the United Nations Day for South‑South Cooperation, said that developing countries have become key actors to implement the Sustainable Development Agenda and that their leadership, practices and experiences have played a major part in global transformation.

Amid escalating violence and lack of participation by one party in Yemen’s recently relaunched peace talks, the international community must commit to supporting dialogue, protecting civilians and preventing the country’s further decline into chaos, the senior United Nations official tasked with shepherding the negotiations stressed today as he briefed the Security Council.