Two people in Cambodia have died from H5N1 avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, since the beginning of 2013. And two more have become infected. Health authorities in Cambodia say they will step up public awareness campaigns as a result. "Ongoing public awareness campaigns need to be reinforced through television and radio," said Sok [...]
Ongoing insecurity, widespread displacement, poor access, remote communities and high exposure to natural disasters: these are just some of the obstacles to providing humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. The Afghan government and its humanitarian partners this week launched a $471 million appeal to assist the country, which consistently ranks low on various development indices. They hope [...]
The situation continues to deteriorate in Syria, according to John Ging, Director of the Operational Division at OCHA, the UN humanitarian agency. Following a four-day mission to Syria, along with seven other United Nations humanitarian agencies, Mr. Ging briefed the UN press corps, saying the agencies want to find more ways to reach more people [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discussed the human rights situation in South Sudan with President Salva Kiir Mayardit as he continues his meetings with African heads of state at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. According to a readout of the meeting, the two leaders discussed the implementation of the 27 September 2012 [...]
As we chart a course towards sustainable development, the transition that lies ahead of us is not optional, but is inevitable, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo said Monday at a handover ceremony of the ECOSOC presidency. He said the transition of the presidency is occurring at a time of another [...]
When large parts of Somalia were under the Al-Shabaab Islamist extremists, art, sports and other forms of entertainment were forbidden. Now, the Somali government forces, supported by troops of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is mandated by the Security Council, have driven the extremists away. This has given Somali artists space and [...]
Haiti now has updated data on the situation of children and women, enabling analysis of the earthquake response and helping establish where and who the most vulnerable children are. The preliminary results of this survey mean good news for the situation of children in Haiti particularly in the areas of education and nutrition. Beng Poblete-Enriquez [...]
A former Director-General of WHO, the World Health Organization has died in Poitiers, France after a short illness. Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima passed away on Saturday the 26th of January. He was 84 years old. According to WHO, many of its most successful programmes owe a debt to Dr. Nakajima's work, including DOTS, the strategy for [...]
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has expressed sadness over the large number of lives lost on Sunday in a nightclub fire in Brazil. An estimated 233 young people, including university students, reportedly perished as a result of the fire in the southern city of Santa Maria. The Secretary-General expressed his condolences to the families and friends of [...]
Nearly one in five of the pre-crisis population in Syria is in need of humanitarian assistance. The UN estimates that's about four million people. The UN humanitarian agency says the particularly harsh winter has compounded the suffering of people in need, especially internally-displaced persons living in shelters lacking adequate insulation with no winter clothes and no [...]
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the bilateral support provided to the Government of Mali in its efforts to counter attacks by Jihadist groups. In talks with the Interim President of Mali Dioncounda Traore, the Secretary-General stressed the need to pursue a political process that would lead to a consensual roadmap for the transition to full [...]
The humanitarian community has appealed for $470 million in assistance for Afghanistan. The priorities for humanitarian response in 2013 are to provide more assistance to the displaced, minimize the human impact of natural disasters and secure better access to people in need. Geographically, the five provinces with the highest needs are: Kandahar, Hilmand, Nangarhar, [...]
