"DISASTERS"

WHO is launching its 2023 health emergency appeal today for US$ 2.54 billion to provide assistance to millions of people around the world facing health emergencies. The number of people in need of humanitarian relief has increased by almost a quarter compared to 2022, to a record 339 million. WHO

Secretary-General António Guterres spent Sunday in the island of Santo Antão, where, after five years of intense drought, a group of projects supported by the United Nations hopes to transform the agricultural sector of these Atlantic islands. UNIFEED

Under the Rapid Rural Transformation (RRT) initiative, WFP and partners establish solar-powered hubs to provide essential services to the communities in Madagascar, in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner. UNTV CH / WFP

The top UN political affairs official told the Security Council that “there is no sign of an end to the fighting” in Ukraine and “the logic that prevails is a military one, with very little, if any, room for dialogue right now.” UNIFEED

Briefing reporters in Juba on Friday, the head of the UN in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom said, “It will be crucial that South Sudan meets all its critical benchmarks, particularly those that are time bound, and this would require a sense of urgency in the coming year.” UNMISS

United Nations agencies are calling for urgent action to protect the most vulnerable children in the 15 countries hardest hit by an unprecedented food and nutrition crisis. WHO

Global growth is slowing sharply in the face of elevated inflation, higher interest rates, reduced investment, and disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report. WORLD BANK GROUP

Since June 2022, a combination of heavy rains and riverine, urban, and flash flooding has led to an unprecedented natural disaster in Pakistan. Floods have affected 33 million people, with more than 1,730 lives lost as well as 2 million housing units impacted, and several thousands of schools and hospitals damaged or destroyed. FILE

UN-led efforts to encourage the international community to stand with Pakistan after deadly floods last summer continued on Monday in Geneva, where Secretary-General António Guterres urged radical reform of the global financial system, in favour of developing countries. UNTV CH

At the International Conference on Climate-Resilient Pakistan, co-hosted by the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations, which took place today at the UN Office in Geneva, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for support to help Pakistan with a 16 billion US dollars rebuilding effort following devastating floods. UNTV CH