February 27, 2021 No comments
FROM THE FIELD: Humanitarian crises of concern in 2021
INTERNATIONAL, 27 February 2021, Humanitarian Aid - The COVID-19 pandemic has dominated much of the world’s attention over the last 12 months, but many other crises will continue to require the urgent attention of the UN and the international community in 2021. A woman survivor of gender-based violence in Kalemie, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. , by UNOCHA/Alioune Ndiaye Syria and Yemen are probably the best known long-running conflict zones. A decade of fighting in Syria has seen millions of people displaced, many requiring humanitarian assistance. Yemen, meanwhile, remains the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, where the risk of large-scale famine has never been more acute. Insecurity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been exacerbated by the pandemic,...
Read more
February 26, 2021 No comments
Palestinian elections raise hopes for two-State solution, Middle East Coordinator tells Security Council
INTERNATIONAL, 26 February 2021, Peace and Security - The holding of free and fair elections in the Occupied Palestinian Territory will help “clear the path” for restoring a legitimate political horizon to realize a long sought two-State solution, the leading UN diplomat for the region told the Security Council on Friday. “The depth of the task is daunting, but not insurmountable”, said Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General. “We must seize emerging opportunities.” With the upcoming elections offering just such an occasion, he pointed to the “extraordinarily high” registration rate among Palestinians as a “resoundingly positive” response. The elections will provide a crucial step towards re-establishing Palestinian national unity – and renewing the legitimacy of...
Read more
February 26, 2021 No comments
UN climate report a ‘red alert’ for the planet: Guterres
INTERNATIONAL, 26 February 2021, Climate and Environment - Nations are “nowhere close” to the level of action needed to fight global warming, a UN climate action report said on Friday, urging countries to adopt stronger and more ambitious plans to reach the Paris Agreement goals, and limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, by the end of the century. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s Initial NDC Synthesis Report measures the progress of national climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs, ahead of the 26th session of Conference of its Parties (COP26) this November in Glasgow. It found that even with increased efforts by some countries, the combined impact falls far short of what is needed. “Today’s interim report from the UNFCCC is a red alert...
Read more
February 26, 2021 No comments
Côte d'Ivoire takes delivery of latest COVAX vaccine shipment, in further boost for Africa
INTERNATIONAL, 26 February 2021, Health - Côte d'Ivoire received 504,000 doses of lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine on Friday making it the second African nation in a week to benefit from the first shipments of shots from the UN-backed global COVAX initiative, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported. The delivery of AstraZeneca/Oxford jabs, following the first historic shipment to Ghana earlier this week, showcases an unprecedented international parternship to provide at least two billion doses of coronavirus shots by the end of this year. The vaccine doses were shipped by UNICEF from the Indian metropolis of Mumbai, via its regional supply centre, Dubai, to Côte d'Ivoire’s capital, Abidjan, as part of the first wave of vaccines headed to several low and middle income countries. Equitable shots "Today is an important first...
Read more
February 26, 2021 No comments
In Yemen’s man-made catastrophe, women and girls pay the price
INTERNATIONAL, 26 February 2021, Women - Midwife Lena Al-Shurmani, remembers meeting Abia at Al Mawa Camp in Yemen’s Ibb Governorate. Abia was 15 years old and eight months pregnant. “I was very worried,” Ms. Al-Shurmani recalled. “She had a prolapsed uterus, and she was severely malnourished.” Abia – whose name we have changed for her privacy and protection – was worried, too. Since I got pregnant, I had been living in constant fear... “Since I got pregnant, I had been living in constant fear”, she told workers from the UN sexual and reproductive health agency UNFPA. “I heard of many girls in my village losing their lives and their babies giving birth at my age.” Escalating hostilities had forced her family to flee from the contested major...
Read more
