BOLIVIA
The Secretary-General remains deeply concerned about developments in Bolivia. He reiterates his appeal to all Bolivians to refrain from violence and exercise maximum restraint. The Secretary-General has asked Mr. Jean Arnault to engage as his Personal Envoy, with all Bolivian actors and offer United Nations support in efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis, including through transparent, inclusive and credible elections. Mr. Arnault will be travelling to Bolivia today.
Mr. Arnault is the former Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Colombia. He has also served as his Special Representative in Georgia, Afghanistan, Burundi and Guatemala.
SOMALIA
Nearly $19 million has been released from both the UN Central Emergency Response Fund and the Somalia Humanitarian Fund to scale up life-saving assistance to more than half a million people affected by recent floods.
The flooding has destroyed infrastructure, farmlands and roads. Livelihoods have been disrupted and homes have been inundated in many areas, displacing some 370,000 people.
The funds will help UN agencies and our partners quickly distribute food aid, deploy rapid response teams, support health facilities, and provide shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, education, and other critical protection services.
The funds will also support the UN Humanitarian Air Service to transport essential goods and personnel into areas made hard to reach due to the floods.
Despite this influx of funding, significant gaps remain. The UN and our partners estimate that at least an additional $50 million is required for the immediate life-saving response to these floods.
GAZA
Nickolay Mladenov, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said today that Egypt and the UN had worked hard to prevent the most dangerous escalation in and around Gaza from leading to war.
He said that the coming hours and days will be critical and that all must show maximum restraint and do their part to prevent bloodshed. The Middle East does not need more wars, he said.
WHO
The World Health Organization announced today a technique that sterilizes male mosquitoes using radiation that will soon be tested as part of global health efforts to control diseases such as chikungunya, dengue, and Zika.
The Sterile Insect Technique is a form of insect birth control and helps to reduce insect population.
According to WHO half the world’s population is now at risk of dengue fever.
SANITATION WORKERS
In a joint report by the International Labour Organization, the World Bank, the World Health Organization and WaterAid, highlights the unsafe and undignified working conditions of sanitation workers in several developing countries.
The report, issued to mark World Toilet Day on 19 November, is the most extensive exploration to date of the plight of sanitation workers in the developing world.
It is based on a study done in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Haiti, India, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.
According to the study, most sanitation workers are in the informal economy and are deprived of their rights and protection.
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization published today new guidelines aimed at assuring crop diversity and farmers' resilience to plant genetic resource loss.
According to the agency, these guidelines are a valuable aid to countries in developing national plans to conserve critical crop resources.
DIABETES
Today is World Diabetes Day.
In his message, the Secretary-General recalls that more than 420 million people suffer from diabetes worldwide, a treatable and often preventable disease largely driven by unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and poor access to health services and medicine.
Affirming that diabetes damages health and undermines educational and employment aspirations for many the Secretary-General also stresses how it affects communities and forces families into economic hardship through catastrophic medical expenses.
