Humanitarian issues

In Afghanistan, a humanitarian operation to deliver assistance to previously inaccessible areas of eastern Nuristan Province was launched today, coordinated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Afghan Red Crescent Society, and supported by the UN, serving 136,000 people in Kamdesh and Barg-e-Matal.

The World Food Programme (WFP) today called for support for Haiti as it issued a new report that shows that 5.8 million Haitians — 52 per cent of the population — continue to face acute food insecurity. WFP needs $332 million to maintain its crucial operations over the next 12 months.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan, in Berlin today:

Today marks three years since the war began in Sudan, a tragic milestone in what has become the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Nearly 34 million people inside Sudan need humanitarian assistance; more than 4.5 million have been forced to flee across borders.

The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is monitoring the situation in the Pyla plateau, where peacekeepers have stepped up patrols and are maintaining a visible presence on the ground, following the observation of unauthorized entry by Turkish Cypriot security personnel into the United Nations buffer zone.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $48 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to maintain aid operations of the UN Humanitarian Air Service, run by the World Food Programme, in Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a five-day vaccination campaign led by the Ministry of Health is under way supported by WHO, UNICEF, UNRWA, donors and partners, to vaccinate children under the age of three, including in hard-to-reach areas.

In Abyei, leaders from the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities have signed a Declaration of Intent with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) to curb the spread of weapons in the disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan. UNISFA stresses that dialogue remains the only viable path to end disputes.

In Lebanon, over 1.1 million people are now registered as displaced. In the past month, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has supplied over 280,000 litres of fuel to some 45 pumping stations and wastewater stations nationwide, and the UN and its aid partners have distributed over 3 million meals and over 65,000 food parcels.

The UN Peacebuilding Fund has approved $2.5 million for an anti-corruption initiative in Guinea-Bissau to strengthen the country’s oversight and audit institutions, advance digital solutions and reinforce partnerships with national stakeholders.