CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC PEACEKEEPING
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) confirmed that the Security Council has approved on 23 December the Secretary-General’s proposal for the temporary redeployment, for a two-month period, of two infantry companies and two military utility helicopters from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to assist the MINUSCA. This is to reinforce the operational capabilities of the Peacekeeping Mission in the CAR during the electoral context.
On the security front, the peacekeepers are continuing to actively engage in mitigating growing threats from armed groups throughout the country. The Mission is also continuing to provide support to the preparations of the presidential and legislative elections.
The Mission also reported that the deployment of sensitive elections materials to all prefectures was completed yesterday, while voter card distribution continued all over the country. The Mission reported that 85% of voter card distribution centres were open and had high turnout, despite the security challenges.
Yesterday, the Peacekeeping Mission also contributed $500,000 to the fund managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to further help financing the elections.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Denise Brown, today issued a statement expressing her concerns for the escalation of violence in several parts of the country ahead of the elections on Sunday.
Ms. Brown condemned the acts of violence that have led to increased insecurity and more than 55,000 people leaving their homes. She calls on armed groups to comply with the International Humanitarian Law and immediately stop all attacks against humanitarian personnel and to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
ETHIOPIA
Two inter-agency assessment missions are in Tigray province, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that one of the teams is now in Mekelle waiting to proceed to Adigrat. The other team however had not, by yesterday, proceeded to Shire as planned due to additional permissions requested by the authorities.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Peace is expected to facilitate the clearance as soon as possible. Health, nutrition, food, water, sanitation and hygiene and non-food items are the priority needs.
UKRAINE/DELIVERY OF AID
In Ukraine, the UN, along with its humanitarian partners, have now delivered 315 metric tonnes of humanitarian aid and refrigeration equipment to non-Government controlled areas in Eastern Ukraine.
Yesterday, 25 trucks of shelter materials, medical supplies, personal protective equipment, water, sanitation, hygiene and noon food items were delivered for further distribution in Luhanska province. Today, 100 refrigerators from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) - required for the storage of medical supplies - were transported to Donetska province for further distribution to health-care facilities.
The UN, along with its humanitarian partners, have been on the ground in eastern Ukraine since 2014, providing relief and protection assistance worth more than $1.2 billion. Each year, humanitarian organizations have reached more than one million people on both sides of the ‘contact line’.
MOZAMBIQUE
The World Food Programme (WFP) today said it is extremely concerned about the dire humanitarian and food security situation in Northern Mozambique, brought on by escalating violence and displacement from Cabo Delgado. According to WFP, more than 900,000 people in Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Nampula are now facing Crisis or Emergency levels of food insecurity.
With limited supplies reaching markets, the cost of food and household items has skyrocketed.
Despite significant operational challenges, WFP plans to reach 750,000 people in Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa provinces. The UN agency said that $117 million is required to provide support for the next 12 months in Mozambique. In the absence of enough funding, food supplies will be compromised leading to a reduction in rations or potential suspension of food distributions.
MADAGASCAR
In Madagascar, in advance of a tropical depression that is moving towards to the country, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that the Government is coordinating preparedness activities for a possible response. The UN, along with its partners, are also identifying emergency supplies available, in support of the Government.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is also identifying an assessment team for potential deployment. OCHA warns that the depression, which is being called Chalane, could hit the Mozambican coast next week, where Cyclone Idai hit nearly two years ago.
Responsible government agencies are putting preparedness measures in place.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF EPIDEMIC PREPAREDNESS
This Sunday is the first observance of the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness. In his message, the Secretary-General said the Day falls at the end of a year in which a scenario many had feared came tragically true.
The Secretary-General pointed out that with COVID-19 having now killed more than 1.7 million people, devastated economies, upended societies and exposed the world’s vulnerabilities in the starkest ways, the value of health emergency preparedness has hit home like never before. The Secretary-General stressed that as we strive to control and recover from the current pandemic, we must think about the next.
He added that preparedness is a sound investment, costing far less than emergency expenditures, and that science must be our guide. For him, solidarity and coordination are crucial, within and among countries. No one is safe unless all of us are safe, he added.
COVID-19/THAILAND
In Thailand, the resident coordinator Gita Sabharwal is leading the UN team's work, with the government, private sector and civil society to address the impacts of the pandemic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting the government to pilot a new healthcare model which will boost access to tele-medicine. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is monitoring the impact of Thailand's economic stimulus package on people's livelihoods and in partnership with the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the green aspects of the recovery.
The UN team in Thailand is also engaging in the private sector for green, climate-friendly investments to recover better together with the pandemic. The UN Industrial Government Organization (UNIDO) is providing technical assistance to introduce regenerative furnaces and scrap processing machines to reduce dioxin and CO2 emissions in steel and aluminium factories.
For their part, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) are working with authorities to identify schools and communities lacking internet access and to support e-learning.
CLIMATE
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said today that the past decade (2011 – 2020) was the warmest on record and this year remains on track to be one of the three warmest on record.
The exceptional heat of 2020 is despite a cooling La Niña, which is now impacting weather patterns in many parts of the world.
According to WMO, 2020 will most likely end up being the second warmest year to date, behind 2016 and ahead of 2019.
