In June, 921,000 people were forced to leave Burkina Faso, making it the site of one of the world’s fastest-growing displacement crises. Increased insecurity has also made humanitarian access more difficult, with the number of people in need of assistance jumping to 2.9 million people, from 2.2 million in January.
Humanitarian issues
Humanitarian issues
8 July 2020
8 July 2020
SC/14244
The Security Council failed on 7 and 8 July to adopt draft resolutions that would have renewed its authorization for the cross-border mechanism that enables the United Nations and its implementing partners to deliver humanitarian aid into Syria via the country’s border with Turkey.
6 July 2020
The United Nations is mobilizing to help fight COVID-19 in the Dominican Republic, where about 37,000 cases and 800 deaths are confirmed. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is supplying ventilators while Rome-based food agencies led a virtual farm training to help people generate additional income.
2 July 2020
SG/A/1970
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Irena Vojáčková-Sollorano of Germany as his new Deputy Special Representative for Iraq in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and Resident Coordinator. Ms. Vojáčková-Sollorano will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator.
1 July 2020
For the Syria crisis response, the international community has pledged $5.5 billion to support humanitarian, resilience and development activities in 2020, plus $2.2 billion in 2021 and beyond, demonstrating a clear commitment to continue supporting those most affected and ensuring aid agencies are able to plan ahead.
30 June 2020
SG/SM/20151
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message, as recorded for delivery, to the Brussels donor conference on Syria, today:
29 June 2020
In the biggest humanitarian undertaking in its history, the World Food Programme (WFP) plans to assist up to a record 138 million people. WFP estimates the number of hungry people in the countries where it operates could reach 270 million by year’s end, up 82 per cent from before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.
29 June 2020
SC/14231
Experts briefing the Security Council during a 29 June videoconference meeting warned that cases of COVID-19 are likely to spread “like wildfire” amid Syria’s displaced millions — already suffering from hunger, spiking food prices and a health system decimated by war — while urging members to promptly renew the country’s crucial cross-border aid mechanism amid the pandemic.
24 June 2020
A new report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that ongoing efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions are expected to spur further investments in green energy production. These investments have been steady, standing at $600 billion per year on average.
19 June 2020
In Nepal, the United Nations team is helping the Government cope with the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting the repatriation of Nepali migrants returning from the Gulf and Southeast Asia at entry and transit points, with quarantine sites and isolation centres. Some 25,000 returnees are expected in this first phase.
17 June 2020
A new United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report finds that universal child benefits such as cash payments or tax transfers — crucial to fighting child poverty — are only available in 1 out of 10 countries. Officials say that they are needed now more than ever amid the economic fallout of COVID-19.
16 June 2020
More than 55 million domestic workers — 37 million of whom are women — are at risk of losing their jobs and income amid COVID-19 lockdowns, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is warning. Only about 10 per cent of domestic workers globally have access to social security safety nets.
10 June 2020
The United Nations is scaling up life-saving aid for north-west Syria, including health items to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic. In May alone, it sent 1,781 trucks from Turkey, the highest number since cross-border operations began in 2014, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports.
9 June 2020
SG/SM/20112
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the opening of the Economic and Social Council Humanitarian Affairs Segment, in New York today:
9 June 2020
For the first time since 2018, the World Food Programme has been able to send a humanitarian convoy from Kenya directly into South Sudan through the Nadapal Border crossing. The nine-truck convoy carried 280 metric tons of food, enough to feed 20,000 people for a month. The route’s reopening cuts travel times in half.
8 June 2020
The United Nations humanitarian chief, Mark Lowcock, has released $40 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to address health emergencies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including a new Ebola outbreak in the city of Mbandaka, in north-western Équateur province.
2 June 2020
SG/SM/20103
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Yemen Pledging Conference, in New York today:
2 June 2020
Some 50 people died in three attacks in Burkina Faso’s northern regions — the Sahel, North, Centre-North and East — marking the deadliest violence since March, when 43 civilians were killed during two attacks on northern villages. Rising insecurity is making it difficult to reach the 2.2 million people in need of aid throughout the country.
1 June 2020
An Ebola outbreak has been identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s western Equateur province. The health ministry has identified six cases, including four people who have died. The World Health Organization has staff in Mbandaka, the main city impacted by the outbreak, to support the response.
27 May 2020
ECOSOC/7018
As COVID-19 continues to expose fragilities across the globe, the United Nations has a “triple imperative” of helping countries respond, safeguarding development gains and ensuring that recovery aligns with efforts to achieve greater well-being for people and planet, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Economic and Social Council, as he outlined priorities for the system’s operational activities.
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