The World Health Organization reported that weekly deaths from COVID-19 in Africa reached a record peak in the week ending 1 August, with more than 6,400 deaths recorded — the highest seven-day toll since the onset of the pandemic in Africa. South Africa and Tunisia accounted for more than 55 per cent of the fatalities.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
A new report by the United Nations Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights stresses the need to prevent torture in places of detention in Iraq, including the Kurdistan region. “No circumstances, however exceptional, justify torture,” said Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative in the country.
In Myanmar, at least 930 people, many of them women and children, have been killed at the hands of security forces since 1 February, while thousands more have been injured, the United Nations team there reports. At least 3,000 remain under detention, as the protracted crisis impacts humanitarian access to people in need.
The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) say in a new report that conflict, coronavirus and the climate crisis are likely to increase hunger in 23 countries in the next four months. Ethiopia and Madagascar are the world’s newest “highest alert” hunger hotspots, the report states.
The United Nations refugee agency said today it is deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of six Rohingya refugees following heavy monsoon rains and strong winds which pelted refugee sites in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, causing flash floods and landslides. More than 12,000 refugees have been affected, initial reports say.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) reports significant job losses and deteriorated labour market conditions in Myanmar since the military takeover. ILO says employment contracted by an estimated 6 per cent in the second quarter of 2021, compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, reflecting 1.2 million job losses.
The World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have launched a new project to improve emergency response to health crises. The project, called INITIATE², will develop solutions such as disease-specific field facilities and kits and train logistics and health responders on their use.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon expressed deep regret over the inability of Lebanon’s leaders to reach agreement on the formation of a new Government that is urgently needed to address the country’s numerous challenges.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan as escalating conflict has displaced 270,000 Afghans inside the country since January, bringing the total uprooted population to more than 3.5 million. UNHCR said the needs of those who have fled are “suddenly acute”.
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat has a new draft Global Biodiversity Framework to guide actions worldwide through 2030 to preserve and protect nature, and its essential services to people. It will serve as the basis for negotiations at the Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China, in October.
The World Meteorological Organization reports that the recent heatwave in Canada and the United States had major impacts on people, animals and vegetation, and that so many records were broken in June regarding high temperatures worldwide that it was hard to keep track.
The World Food Programme (WFP) is warning today that, without urgent funding, the displacement crisis in the north of Mozambique could become a hunger emergency. Displacement has left at least 730,000 people in Cabo Delgado without access to their land and no means of earning a living.
In Syria, United Nations agencies and aid partners are trucking in emergency water supplies and installing reverse osmosis pumps in Al-Hasakeh city amid reports of another disruption at Alouk water station, which shut down on 23 June. Up to 1 million people in the region are affected when the station ceases to operate.
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) recorded 617 human rights abuses, including 165 killings by armed groups in the country, which is 37 per cent higher than the previous six months. The deteriorating human rights situation is also marked by a steep rise in abductions.
Tor Wennesland, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, announced that, under the United Nations framework, the Qatari-funded fuel deliveries for the Gaza Power Plant are resuming today. He welcomed all steps taken to de-escalate the situation and solidify a ceasefire.
The Ministerial Forums for the High-Level Dialogue on Energy ended today, with commitments announced by India’s major power supplier, NTPC; Power Africa pledging to the electrification of more health centres; and Student Energy aiming to mobilize $150 million to train 35,000 young energy leaders in 100 countries.
In Myanmar, the United Nations team remains very concerned about the humanitarian situation. Some 230,000 people have been forced to flee their home due to clashes between the military and ethnic armed groups, or among ethnic armed groups, since the military takeover of the Government on 1 February.
Some 1.47 million refugees will be in need of resettlement in 2021, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced today. The agency said that, despite the coronavirus pandemic, wars and conflict continue to rage across the world, displacing millions and barring many from returning home.
Clashes in northern Mozambique are driving one of the world’s fastest-growing displacement crises, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), says with the number of people who have fled their homes in Cabo Delgado having surged by nearly 650 per cent in 2020, and more than 732,000 people currently displaced.
