HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

TUESDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2021

AFGHANISTAN/HUMANITARIAN UPDATED 
In Afghanistan, in the past few days, several UN road missions were successfully conducted from Mazar-i-Sharif to Maymana and from Kabul to Jalalabad. We, along with our partners, continue to deliver aid to millions of people in need, as you just heard. 
Yesterday, a convoy with aid from UNHCR [the UN Refugee Agency] reached Nangarhar. This is the second convoy of relief items that have entered Afghanistan through the Torkham Border Crossing since 15 August. I think Iftikhar was asking about border, land convoys yesterday.
Elsewhere, the World Food Programme’s seasonal food assistance continues with one month’s worth of food being provided to vulnerable families that had been previously assessed. In the last week, assistance reached 5,726 people in Kunduz city, 392 people in Pul-e-Khumri, and 2,500 people in Takhar.                                   
In anticipation of high food needs and further disruptions to supply chains, WFP is also pre-positioning food and other stocks at strategic border points in Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. A logistics hub is being established in Uzbekistan, in Termez. 
Yesterday, more than $1.2 billion dollars in humanitarian and development aid was announced thanks to the generosity of Member States at the High-level Event on Afghanistan, which the Secretary-General chaired. This includes funding for the Flash Appeal and the regional response. 
We stressed that pledges now need to be disbursed quickly so that the UN and humanitarian partners, including national and international non-governmental organizations, can move quickly to turn funds into food, health care and protection for Afghan children, women and men in need. 

HAITI 
Today marks the one-month anniversary since Haiti was struck by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. The quake left 2,247 people dead, 12,763 people injured, and 650,000 people in need of emergency assistance. As a reminder, more than 136,000 houses were damaged or destroyed. 
The Government of Haiti, the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team and some 141 humanitarian partners have upped capacity to provide assistance to impacted people. 
Despite access constraints and gang violence along the main supply route, some 26 convoys from 45 humanitarian partners have reached the population in the South. 
Food security partners have also reached more than 143,000 people to date with food and cash-based transfers and have served more than 130,000 hot meals in Grande Anse, Nippes and the Sud departments of Haiti.                 
Nearly 2 million litres of safe drinking water have reached 250,000 people; 114,000 non-food items and kits have been distributed, and 11 Emergency Medical Teams have been installed across all three affected departments. 
Priority is now on the most vulnerable people in rural areas, as well as the restoration of basic services including health and education.  
Classes are scheduled to resume on 4 October in the three most-impacted departments in the country. 
A US$4 million allocation from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund was approved on 9 September by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths. 
The 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti, which aims to assist 1.5 million people, seeks $235 million and is currently only 16 per cent funded. 

The guests at the noon briefing on Thursday will be Bruno Lemarquis, the Humanitarian coordinator for Haiti, and Giuseppe Loprete, the head of IOM in Haiti.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY 
At 3 pm, the Secretary-General will speak at the closing of the 75th session of the General Assembly, and he will discuss how that session was held under the shadow of a formidable foe: the COVID-19 pandemic. The Secretary-General will also talk about how this has been the most challenging period facing the world since the Second World War. And he will pay tribute to the departing President, Volkan Bozkir. 
After that, the Member States are to consider the election of Abdulla Shahid of the Maldives for President of the 76th session of the General Assembly. 
Once that has happened, the Secretary-General will speak at the formal opening of the 76th session.  He will talk about the need to persevere in dealing with COVID-19, the continued effort to implement the Sustainable Development Goals and the urgency of living up to bold climate targets at COP26 in Glasgow.

Monica Grayley will be the spokeswoman for the President of the 76th session.

SECRETARY-GENERAL/UN FOOD SYSTEMS SUMMIT 
In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretary-General noted that the international community has a vital opportunity to help advance the vision of the 2030 Agenda by transforming how we produce, process and consume food. He stressed that a well-functioning food system can help prevent conflict, protect the environment and provide health and livelihoods for all. In food, there is hope, he added.  
As leaders prepare for the historic Food Systems Summit on 23 September, the Secretary-General is urging everyone to come with ambitious commitments to feed hope for a better future. He emphasized that it is our moral imperative to keep our promise to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. 

GUINEA  
The Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, was in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, yesterday. 
The objective of the mission was to listen to the assessment of political and diplomatic actors about the situation, following the political change that occurred on September 5, in order to contribute to a resolution of the current crisis that would guarantee peace and stability in Guinea. 
He met with the head of the Comité National de Rassemblement et de Développement – the CNRD-. And that is, the head of the CNRD is Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, as well as other members of the CNRD. 
He also had meetings with leaders of the main political parties, representatives of the international community and the UN Country Team.  
In his exchanges, Mr. Annadif stressed the importance of ensuring the stability and unity of Guinea as well as the protection of human rights. And added that the United Nations, in coordination with ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States], will accompany the people of Guinea as they work towards a swift resolution to the crisis.   
 
COVAX 
In recent days, Colombia has received 3 million doses of vaccines to support the country’s national vaccination campaign. This brings the total number of doses Colombia has received through COVAX to more than 5 million.  
On Sunday, Paraguay received 300,000 doses donated by Spain..
Over the weekend, Nicaragua received nearly 200,000 doses, also donated by Spain, through COVAX. This brings the total number of doses Nicaragua has received through COVAX to more than 800,000, with more on the way.  
The Pan-American Health Organization, together with other UN and national partners, is coordinating the logistics of deliveries of vaccines throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Throughout the region, our teams continue to help authorities address the multiple impacts of the pandemic, especially in the most impacted and vulnerable groups, including indigenous peoples, women, migrants and refugees.  

PRESS BRIEFINGS TOMORROW 
Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., there will be a hybrid press briefing on the High-level Dialogue on Energy, which is a virtual summit convened by the Secretary-General that will take place on the 24th of September. The speakers will be the Co-Chairs of the High-level Dialogue: Achim Steiner, Head of the UNDP, and Damilola Ogunbiyi, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All.  
And at noon, the Spokespam will be joined virtually by Richard Kozul-Wright, from the UN Conference on Trade and Development, to present the UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2021.