TÜRKIYE/SYRIA EARTHQUAKE  
The cross-border response continued today, with 30 trucks from the World Food Programme, carrying canned food and mattresses, crossing into north-west Syria through Bab al-Hawa, and also supplies from the International Organization for Migration delivered shelter and non-food items through the Bab al-Salam crossing. 
In total, since February 9th, 117 trucks crossed into north-west Syria: 106 through Bab al-Hawa crossing and 11 through the Bab al-Salam crossing. And Maggie, I hope my math is correct. Okay.
So far also just in other parts of our humanitarian work, our efforts are being rapidly scaled up and more assessments are being planned in Syria to identify priority needs in different areas. UNICEF helped provide micronutrient supplements for 113,000 children under the age of five and 1,000 pregnant and lactating women for three months. 
The World Food Programme has been distributing ready-to-eat meals and other food items to displaced families across Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Idlib provinces.  
WFP plans to send a further 40 trucks in the next couple of days, potentially using the new border crossings. 
So far, WFP has assisted nearly 100,000 people with emergency food rations in non-government-controlled areas of northwest Syria. WFP has also resumed its regular food assistance programme with the distribution of food baskets for 170,000 people in non-government-controlled areas in the northwest of the country in addition to the provision of emergency food rations to 100,000 people since 6 February. 
For its part, the UN Refugee Agency says that a total of 3,790 people from Aleppo city have been newly displaced to five sub-districts in rural Aleppo. Mobile teams and community centres are supporting displaced families with protection and referral services. While the needs remain massive and in great part unmet, UNHCR partners have assisted some 1,300 families - that is approximately 6,500 people - in rural areas of Aleppo.   
Also, I just want to mention that in an effort to scale-up our response, the principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, which brings together the UN and our humanitarian partners, declared a humanitarian systemwide scale-up for six months. This helps to ensure that we are collectively and operationally deploying all possible means and resources to urgently respond in the earthquake-impacted areas.

UKRAINE/APPEAL 
Turning to the other humanitarian crisis we’ve been talking about and that is Ukraine. With the full-scale war in Ukraine about to enter its second year, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, and the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, today jointly launched in Geneva an appeal for $5.6 billion to ease the plight of millions of people.
The Humanitarian Response Plan for Ukraine, bringing together more than 650 partners - the majority of them are Ukrainian organizations - calls for $3.9 billion to reach 11.1 million people with food, health care, cash and other life-saving assistance. 
The Refugee Response Plan for refugees from Ukraine appeals for $1.7 billion. The plan includes 10 refugee host countries, with some 250 partners. These funds will help 4.2 million Ukrainian refugees and communities in countries hosting them.
  
UKRAINE 
Turning to the situation on the ground in Ukraine. We’re being told by our humanitarian colleagues that two humanitarian facilities – both warehouses storing aid – were hit by airstrikes yesterday in Konstantinivka, in the Donetsk region, and in Kherson. The intense fighting in the east is also impacting civilians who have already endured nearly a year of relentless hostilities.  
Over the past [few days], scores of civilian buildings – including homes, hospitals and schools – have been hit on both sides of the front lines. Attacks are also, once again, impacting energy infrastructure, and leaving millions without electricity, heating or water every day in Ukraine. 
Our humanitarian colleagues stress that International Humanitarian Law is clear: civilians and civilian infrastructure, particularly hospitals, but also schools and energy infrastructure, should not be targeted. This also applies to aid facilities.  
Our colleagues on the ground also tell us that they organized another inter-agency convoy yesterday to the Donetsk region, this time to the front-line town of Kostiantynopil. We, along with our partners, delivered winter supplies, food, heaters, tarpaulin, blankets and emergency shelter kits to help 1,200 people who remain in the community. We also brought enough medicines and medical supplies to treat the whole community for three months. 
These supplies were provided by the International Organization for Migration, the World Food Programme, UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency and the World Health Organization.  
Since [February 2022], humanitarians have facilitated thousands of convoys to all parts of Ukraine under Government control. This includes more than 30 inter-agency convoys which have delivered supplies to more than 315,000 people in areas close to the front lines, to where needs are more severe. 
This has been possible thanks to local non-governmental organizations and volunteer groups, the international humanitarian community, and Government and private donors, who have generously stepped up to support Ukraine. 
  
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 
Moving to the Central African Republic, we have an update from our peacekeeping mission in there, otherwise known as MINUSCA, which co-signed an integrated plan for the security of elections, that plan was sighed yesterday with the Prime Minister Felix Moloua and the President of the National Authority for Elections, Mathias Barthélémy Morouba. That plan would enable the timely holding of peaceful and inclusive local elections for the first time since 1988.  
The UN Mission continues to raise awareness on the elections and promote peace among local communities and authorities, notably in Haute-Kotto, Ouham and Ouandja-Kotto prefectures, and it has provided specialized training on the protection of civilians to 25 defence and security forces operating in those regions.  
Over the past week, the security situation remained tense, with explosive device incidents reported in the western part of the Central African Republic.
Our peacekeeping mission conducted 2,015 patrols, maintaining a robust posture in the Basse Kotto, Haute-Kotto and Nana-Mambéré prefectures to ensure protection of civilians. 
   
YEMEN 
Back here the Security Council met on Yemen this morning. Members of the Council voted unanimously on a draft resolution that extends until 15 December of this year the mandate of the Panel of Experts as set out in resolution 2140. 
 
WEST AFRICA 
Just a note from the World Food Programme, they tell us they are preparing to support 490,000 people in Burkina Faso, The Gambia and Mali who were impacted by drought last year. The support will enable them to buy food or supplement their incomes to avoid having to sell their assets. Assistance will also include nutritional support for children aged 6-23 months and pregnant and nursing women.  
This climate insurance enables communities to recover from losses and damages, preventing them being pushed into hunger.  
  
HONOUR ROLL 
More good news today on the financial front. We thank our friends in Bandar Seri Begawan, Havana, Addis Ababa and Berlin.  Full payments to the regular budget from Brunei Darussalam, Cuba, Ethiopia and Germany take the Honour Roll to 51.  And a reminder to those Member States that may be paying attention to this briefing that monies received at our bank by close of business tomorrow will be acknowledged in the Honour Roll note on Friday, but not to worry, if they do miss the deadline, we will happily take their money and flag it every day that we receive it.