SECRETARY-GENERAL/UN75
This morning, in the Economic and Social Council Chamber, the Secretary-General took part in the UN75 Inaugural Launch Event entitled “Youth in the Driving Seat.”
The Secretary-General asked the young people who were present to express their opinions and said he was there to listen and to learn from them. He reiterated that the UN is striving to better respond to their concerns, hopes and fears.
 
CORONAVIRUS
On the coronavirus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, today announced that he will reconvene the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee to advise him on whether the current outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
He said that, while just 1 per cent of the more than 6,000 cases have been recorded to date outside of China, person-to-person transmission has been recorded in 3 countries outside of China. This potential for further global spread is why he has called for the Emergency Committee to reconvene.
Dr. Tedros has just returned to Geneva from China, where, as we told you yesterday, he met President Xi Jinping and the Ministers of Health and Foreign Affairs. It was agreed that WHO will send international experts to visit China as soon as possible to work with Chinese counterparts on increasing understanding of the outbreak and guide global response efforts.
For its part, UNICEF has sent respiratory masks and protective suits for health workers and that shipment has arrived in Shanghai. The agency will be sending more items in the coming days and weeks.
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said that, while we may not know enough about the virus’s impact on children or how many may be affected, we do know that close monitoring and prevention are key. Time is not on our side, she added.
 
SYRIA
The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, briefed the Security Council on Syria this morning and said that hostilities have escalated in recent days in the Idlib area, especially around Ma’arat al-Numan, Saraqeb and western Aleppo. The fighting in these areas appears to be more intense than anything we have seen in the last year, he said.
The most alarming reports have come from southern Idlib, he added, where hundreds of airstrikes by the Government of Syria and its allies have been concentrated. Meanwhile, non-State armed groups continue to shell Aleppo city, killing or injuring dozens of civilians.  Mr. Lowcock said the UN assessment is that at least 20,000 people have moved in the last two days, some 115,000 have left in the past week, and nearly 390,000 have fled in the past two months.
It is imperative, Mr. Lowcock added, that all parties agree to an immediate cessation of hostilities in and around the Idlib de-escalation area.
Mr. Lowcock added that the humanitarian situation in the northeast remains difficult, with some 70,000 people still displaced following the military operations we saw in October and an additional 90,000 people living in IDP camps.
This afternoon, Khawla Matar, the Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, is expected to brief the Security Council.
 
LIBYA
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya, Ghassan Salamé, has been invited to brief the African Union High Level Committee on Libya, which has been taking place in the Republic of Congo.
The Special Representative understands the impact of the Libyan crisis on African countries, especially in terms of terrorism and migration, and expresses his appreciation to the close relationship with the African Union and its continued support for the United Nations’ efforts to bring about peace and stability to Libya.
 
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic reports today that the situation in the town of Bria, located in the Haute-Kotto prefecture, is calm but tense. Over the weekend, there were clashes between factions of an armed group, the Front Populaire pour la renaissance de la Centrafrique.
The Mission has engaged in dialogue facilitation between factions of the group, as UN peacekeepers continue to patrol in the area to protect civilians and prevent a resumption of the violence.
The clashes also led to the displacement of thousands of people.
 
D.R. CONGO
Following her visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Michelle Bachelet, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on both the country’s Government and the international community “to seize the opportunity to lift the country out of its deadly cocktail of conflicts, human rights violations and chronic socio-economic problems.”
The High Commissioner began her visit in the province of Ituri, before flying to Kinshasa, where she met with the President and other Government officials. 
 
ETHIOPIA
Today, the Government of Ethiopia, the UN, and humanitarian partners launched the Humanitarian Response Plan for Ethiopia for 2020.
The Plan calls for $1 billion to help 7 million people out of the 8.4 million people identified as being in need of humanitarian aid.
It is expected that displacement caused by conflict, disease outbreaks, rain shortfalls in parts of the country and floods in others will continue to drive humanitarian needs in Ethiopia this year.
Currently, Ethiopia is experiencing one of the most severe desert locust invasions, which could lead to loss of livelihoods and food insecurity if not contained soon.
 
UKRAINE  
We also launched the Ukraine Humanitarian Response Plan for 2020.
The plan seeks $158 million to assist two million people. This includes 200,000 internally displaced people – 850,000 people in government-controlled areas and 910,000 in non-government-controlled areas.
The Plan includes the provision of emergency assistance, protection, strengthening of the national capacity in coordination with development actors, and securing access to 3.4 million people in need.
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the international community has contributed over $500 million for the humanitarian response. With this support, the UN and other humanitarian organizations have been able to reach over one million people each year. This is, however, only half of the targeted population due to lack of funding and limited humanitarian access.
 
PNEUMONIA
UNICEF said today that it is boosting efforts to fight pneumonia that could avert nearly 9 million child deaths.
Child deaths from pneumonia are concentrated in the world’s poorest countries and it is the most deprived and marginalised children who suffer the most.
According to a modelling done by Johns Hopkins University, scaling up pneumonia treatment and prevention services could save the lives of 3.2 million children under the age of five and create ‘a ripple effect’ that would prevent 5.7 million extra child deaths from other major childhood diseases.
 
RESIDENT COORDINATORS
We want to welcome a number of new colleagues today. The UN Development Coordination Office tells us that we have new Resident Coordinators in Bolivia, Congo, Tanzania and Thailand. These appointments follow confirmations from the respective Governments.  
Susana Sottoli of Argentina will serve as Resident Coordinator in Bolivia, Chris Mburu of Kenya will serve in the Republic of Congo, Zlatan Milišić of Bosnia and Herzegovina will serve in Tanzania, and Gita Sabharwal of India will be the new Resident Coordinator in Thailand.
Resident Coordinators seek to boost the development coordination among UN agencies, funds and programmes, which, as you know, will be crucial to support countries as we enter the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We are also proud to announce that we will remain with full gender parity among all our Resident Coordinators covering 162 countries and territories.