HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 2 JULY 2019

 
SYRIA
The United Nations remains deeply alarmed about the humanitarian impact of hostilities in and around the de-escalation zone in the north-west part of the country, which has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries in just over two months, as well as repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure and an increased level of displacement.
Hostilities, including air strikes, artillery shelling and clashes, are largely concentrated in areas controlled by non-State armed groups in Idlib, but also in Government-controlled areas.
An estimated 3 million civilians, among them 1 million children, are in imminent danger due to the violence.
Since May, 330,000 women, children and men have fled their homes. Most have sought safety in overcrowded areas where services are overstretched.
Despite ongoing hostilities and limited access, the humanitarian response by the UN and partner organisations is continuing. Critical life-saving food, protection, nutrition, shelter, education and clean water is being provided to hundreds of thousands of civilians in the north-west.
Every month, nearly 1 million people across the north-west receive food baskets. The deployment of mobile healthcare units has been fast-tracked to provide services in areas where most of the newly-displaced are settling.
 
SUDAN
Our colleagues in Sudan tell us that the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, are supplying medicine, nutrition supplies and trauma kits to the State Ministry of Health in East Darfur region.
This is in response to a serious shortage of medicine and health supplies in that area.
WHO has also provided health kits to some of its partners in North Darfur to help 150,000 patients over the next three months. WHO is helping the State Ministry of Health in running the Kebkabiya rural hospital and will support four additional facilities in El Fasher and Kutum localities until the end of September.
Sudan is facing shortages of medicine and health supplies due to the ongoing economic crisis which has been exacerbated by the current political situation.
The Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan, which is calling for $1.1 billion, is only 29 per cent funded.
 
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it is scaling up its relief operation for conflict-displaced people in the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo. 
The renewed inter-ethnic violence has forced tens of thousands or more from their homes and increased the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance.
The DRC is the world’s second largest hunger crisis after Yemen, according to the World Food Programme, with 13 million people food insecure, 5 million of whom are malnourished children.
In Ebola-afflicted Ituri province, where the spike in clashes between ethnic groups has claimed at least 160 lives in recent weeks, the World Food Programme intends to triple life-saving food and cash assistance to 300,000 internally displaced people. The organization is planning to assist 5.2 million Congolese this year alone.
 
ZIKA
The World Health Organization (WHO) today released an updated Zika travel guidance and a summary of the global epidemiology of the virus transmission.
According to WHO, a total of 87 countries have or have had evidence of mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus. An additional 61 countries and territories have evidence of the mosquito that spreads Zika but have not yet documented the virus transmission.
 
U.N.E.S.C.O.
Earlier today, the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO decided to remove the Birthplace of Jesus, the Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, in Bethlehem, Palestine, from the List of World Heritage sites in Danger.
The UNESCO’s Committee, which has been meeting in Baku since 30 June, said the decision was due to the high quality of work carried out in the Nativity Church, the restoration of its roof, exterior facades, mosaics and doors.
This also includes Latin, Greek Orthodox, Franciscan and Armenian convents and churches, as well as the bell towers and terraced gardens.
Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2012, the site was added simultaneously to the List of World Heritage in Danger due to the poor state of the Church.
 
CONTRIBUTIONS
Today, we say thank you to Cairo, as Egypt has paid its budget dues in full, bringing to 106 the number of Member States who have done so.