In an alert from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, it reported more than 28,000 cases of cholera and 836 deaths in 11 states between 22 July and 28 October. The actual number of people infected with the disease may be higher owing to under-reporting, said OCHA; the UN agency also...
The UN World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have raised the alarm over worsening hunger, malnutrition, and disease outbreaks in the world’s youngest nation. WFP warned that the food situation in South Sudan has reached critical levels, with more than half of the...
WHO said that 88 countries have no minimum age at which e-cigarettes can be bought and 74 countries have not implemented any e-cigarette regulations. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on countries to ramp up prevention measures, saying that “kids are being recruited and trapped at an early age to...
Marked by record breaking land and ocean temperatures, the decade between 2011-2020 saw continued rising concentrations of greenhouse gasses that “turbo charged” dramatic glacier loss and sea-level rise, according to a new report from the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report comes as the latest annual UN climate conference,...
“About 160 children are killed every day; that’s one every 10 minutes,” said UN World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier, echoing concerns from the UN Children’s Fund about the serious additional threat of a mass disease outbreak in the enclave. “If youngsters continue to have restricted access to water...
“The situation underscores the urgent need for the immediate collective involvement of governments from origin, transit and destination countries to provide humanitarian assistance, especially to vulnerable groups like women and children,” said Michele Klein Solomon, IOM Regional Director for Central America, North America and the Caribbean. Perilous journeys IOM...
As of July, there have been more than 34,000 suspected cases of measles and rubella reported, resulting in 413 deaths; a significant increase compared to the 27,000 cases and 220 associated deaths recorded during all of last year, reported the UN health agency. Complicating matters further is limited funding for...
The outbreak, which escalated rapidly since late June, has seen a total of 69,483 confirmed cases and 327 related deaths between 1 January and 7 August, with a case fatality rate of 0.47 per cent, according to the UN health agency. The cases were reported from all 64 districts in...
“This deterioration is taking place alongside ongoing unilateral steps that undermine a two-State solution, the absence of a peace process and the continuing economic challenges facing Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority (PA),” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, briefing ambassadors. “It is critical that all parties take urgent...
In its State of the World’s Children 2023 report, UNICEF says that vaccination coverage levels decreased in 112 countries during the pandemic, “the largest sustained backslide in childhood immunization in 30 years”. According to the agency, a rise in misleading information on vaccines is one of the factors at play....
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, Haiti’s criminal markets: mapping trends in firearms and drug trafficking, warns that a recent increase in arms seizures alongside intelligence and law enforcement reporting, suggests trafficking of weapons is on the rise. ‘Volatile situation’ “By providing a rapid assessment of illicit...
“We are witnessing a surge in violence, including some of the deadliest incidents in nearly 20 years,” said Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO). “We have seen ominous signs of what awaits if we fail to address the current instability.” Raising concerns that developments on...