Tag: Sustainable Development Goals

Incoming General Assembly President to prioritize ‘Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability’ — Global Issues

Ambassador Dennis Francis – who has had a nearly 40-year-career – will take the helm of the UN’s main policy-making body, starting in September.

He was elected by acclamation during a ceremony in the iconic General Assembly Hall at UN Headquarters in New York.

Promoting meaningful dialogue

The General Assembly consists of all 193 UN Member States, all of which have an equal vote. Its duties include appointing the Secretary-General, on the recommendation of the Security Council, and approving the Organization’s annual budget.

Mr. Francis said he will prioritize encouraging and facilitating meaningful dialogue.

“It is my hope to bring forward, with your help and support, a renewed atmosphere of conciliation, cooperation and shared commitment in addressing the many challenges and seizing every opportunity, however nascent, before the General Assembly,” he said.

“I will seek to enhance current approaches and adopt new ones with probable solutions, as we endeavour to deliver or at least to strengthen the bases for delivering Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability.”

He also spoke about the prominent role of education in his life and career and upheld the need to ensure all people have the chance to learn, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which call for ending extreme poverty and other deprivations, by 2030.

Rebuilding trust

The current General Assembly President, Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary, noted that his successor brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the post.

“Mr. Francis’ vision for the 78th session – ‘Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability’ – offers a comprehensive view of the work of the General Assembly as we rebuild trust in and within this institution, tackle climate change and strive to get the SDGs back on track,” he said.

With 100 days remaining in his administration, Mr. Kőrösi said he will continue to promote the use of science for a sustainability transformation, namely in preparations for the SDG Summit during the High-Level Week of the General Assembly in September,

Critical perspective

UN Secretary-General António Guterres added that Mr. Francis’s tenure comes at “a deeply challenging moment”, amidst conflicts, climate chaos, and escalating poverty, hunger and inequality – while the SDGs are also “slipping out of reach”.

He said the incoming President also brings a critical perspective as many issues addressed in the General Assembly – such as climate change and an unjust global financial system – hit small island developing States like Trinidad and Tobago the hardest.

“We look forward to the President-elect carrying forward the theme of his presidency Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability – in the year ahead, and to bringing this Assembly together to strengthen global cooperation at this difficult moment,” he said.

A distinguished career

Mr. Francis is currently the Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the UN and has had a diplomatic career that spans nearly four decades.

During this period, he held the rank of Ambassador for 18 consecutive years until his compulsory retirement in 2016, making him the country’s longest serving Ambassador.

Before leaving office as the Director of Multilateral Relations, he served as Senior Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on all multilateral matters, including Climate Change and the negotiations for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which contains the SDGs.

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Guterres voices deep concern as Anti-Homosexuality Act signed into law — Global Issues

The draconian law foresees the application of the death penalty and long prison sentences for consensual sex between adults.

Non-discrimination principle

Mr. Guterres called on Uganda to fully respect its international human rights obligations, “in particular the principle of non-discrimination and the respect for personal privacy”, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity.

He also called on all Member States to end the criminalization of consensual same-sex relations.

According to the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, such criminalization continues in 67 countries around the world, with 10 still imposing the death penalty.

Undermining development

Just last week, the UN rights chief Volker Türk said that anti-LGBTQI laws like Uganda’s “drive people against one another, leave people behind and undermine development”.

In a statement released at the end of March, when the Ugandan parliament first adopted the legislation, he described the discriminatory bill as a “deeply troubling development” that was “probably among the worst of its kind in the world”.

“If signed into law by the President, it will render lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Uganda criminals simply for existing, for being who they are. It could provide a carte blanche for the systematic violation of nearly all of their human rights and serve to incite people against each other.”

‘Massive distraction’

The bill, which was formally adopted on 21 March, proposes the death penalty for the offence of aggravated homosexuality, life imprisonment for the “offence of homosexuality”, up to 14 years in jail for attempted homosexuality, and up to 20 years merely for promoting homosexuality.

Mr. Türk said that the law would be a “massive distraction from taking the necessary action to end sexual violence”.

He warned that it would also expose journalists, medical workers, and human rights defenders to lengthy prison terms, simply for doing their jobs.

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UN commends Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, as final judgement is delivered — Global Issues

Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović were convicted by the court – part of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) which took over from the ICTY – in 2021, for their roles training death squads accused of ethnic cleansing during the conflict that saw the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

The two were originally sentenced to 12 years by the court in 2021, but Wednesday’s appeal judgement against them, increased that to 15 years, on the grounds that they were “liable as members of a joint criminal enterprise for crimes committed by various Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992”, as well as responsible for murder, in the same year.

Justice for the victims

In a statement, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that Secretary-General António Guterres “takes note of this appeal and extends his thoughts to the victims, and survivors and their families who have suffered from the crimes for which both defendants have been found guilty.”

The judgement marks the end of the final case relating to “core crimes” that the Mechanism inherited from the ICTY, which was established in 1993 to prosecute suspected war criminals.

The IRMCT Chief Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, said that the decision demonstrated that the international community, “when united, can deliver justice to the victims and hold the most senior perpetrators responsible for their crimes.

Remembering the victims and survivors, and sheer courage of witnesses who have come forward, he added that there were still thousands of war crimes suspects throughout the former Yugoslavia, “who remain to be prosecuted.”

“We will continue our intensive efforts to provide assistance to national counterparts, to ensure that more justice is achieved for more victims.”

Truth triumphs

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, also welcomed Wednesday’s final judgement, describing the outcome as a major step to establishing the truth and addressing impunity.

“The extraordinary work and legacy of the Mechanism and of the International Criminal Tribunal before it, have not only contributed to establishing truth, justice and accountability over the years but have also powerfully advanced international criminal justice standards globally,” Mr. Türk said.

Like the Secretary-General, the UN rights chief highlighted the courage, resilience and perseverance of survivors and families who, despite appalling trauma, never stopped seeking truth and justice.

“I want to praise, strongly, the survivors and their families, whose suffering is unimaginable but who persisted in demanding their rights,” he said.

He also stressed that many survivors and their families are still awaiting truth, justice and reparations.

Threats continue

Many victims continue to face threats, intimidation, hate speech and revisionist rhetoric, including rejection of the tribunals’ decisions; denials that crimes were committed; justification of atrocities; and the glorification of war criminals.

“Verdicts like today’s, remind us of an awful past to which we must never return.

He urged the authorities, “media outlets and people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Kosovo, to step up efforts to advance truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence.

“Revisionist narratives, genocide denial, divisive rhetoric and hate speech, from any quarter, are unacceptable.”

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Oversight’s key to ensure sustainability in outer space: Guterres — Global Issues

“Our common interest in preserving the domain of outer space, a province of humankind that benefits us all, requires agile and multi-stakeholder governance responses,” he wrote in the introduction.

The policy brief examines some of the “unprecedented” changes underway in outer space, including the sheer volume of satellites being launched into orbit, the participation of the private sector, and the return of astronauts to deep space after more than half a century.

It outlines major trends that are impacting “space sustainability” and their effect on realizing the SDG promise of a more just, equitable and greener planet down below, by 2030, while also assessing the risks if these challenges are not solved.

Satellites and space tourism

The past decade has seen an exponential increase in the number of satellites launched into outer space – from 210 in 2013 to 2,470 last year – and mainly by private companies.

The period was also marked by a rapid expansion in the number of private missions to space, including the first commercial mission to the International Space Station, which took place in 2021.

The number of planned private missions for communications, resource activities, space tourism and science is also rising, according to the report. While the United States has led the sector, many new commercial space companies have emerged in China, India and Japan.

Although humans have not been to deep space since the final flight of the Apollo programme in 1972, the report points to a “new era” of exploration. For example, United States space agency NASA is planning a manned flight around the moon in 2024, while the American private company Space X wants to send a crew of artists to deep space on an reusable transportation system known as Starship.

Rise in risks

While these developments have the potential to unlock enormous opportunity for humanity, the report warns that they could also exacerbate risks.

“The rapid increase in the number of objects and frequency of missions to outer space brings a corresponding increase in the risks of accident, collision and debris,” it said.

“This issue will become increasingly relevant as space actors conduct new and novel missions such as debris removal, in-orbit servicing and manufacturing and space tourism.”

A shared responsibility

The report concludes with the Secretary-General’s recommendations for harnessing the potential of outer space for achieving the SDGs.

“It is our shared responsibility to ensure that existing international space law is fully implemented, and that effective governance is in place to propel innovation and mitigate risks,” it said.

One option calls for the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to develop a unified regime for space sustainability.

Space traffic

“Such a regime…would foster transparency, confidence-building and the interoperability of space operations in Earth orbit and beyond, including on the Moon and other celestial bodies.”

Alternatively, the Committee could consider developing new governance frameworks for various areas of space sustainability, such as space traffic management, space debris removal and space resource activities.

Space for women

UN entities are also urged to boost efforts to advance the equal participation of women in the aerospace sector, including through programmes that promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education for girls.

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Economic woes dash job prospects in low income countries: ILO — Global Issues

In its new Monitor on the World of Work report, ILO shows that while in high-income countries, only 8.2 per cent of people willing to work are jobless, that number rises to over 21 per cent in low-income countries – or one in every five people.

Low-income countries in debt distress are worst affected, with more than one in four people who want to work unable to secure employment.

Widening jobs gap

ILO’s Assistant Director-General for Jobs and Social Protection, Mia Seppo, said that global unemployment was expected to fall below pre-pandemic levels, with a projected rate of 5.3 per cent in 2023, equivalent to 191 million people.

However, low-income countries, especially those in Africa and the Arab region, were unlikely to see such declines in unemployment this year.

The 2023 global jobs gap, which refers to those who want to work but do not have a job, is projected to rise to 453 million people, she said, with women 1.5 times more affected than men.

Africa hit hardest

The UN agency further indicated that Africa’s labour market had been hit the hardest during the pandemic, which explained the slow pace of recovery on the continent.

Unlike wealthy nations, debt distress across the continent and a very limited fiscal and policy space, meant that few countries in Africa could put in place the kind of comprehensive stimulus packages they needed to spur economic recovery, ILO explained.

Inadequate social protection

Ms. Seppo stressed that without improvement in people’s employment prospects, there would be no sound economic and social recovery. Equally important is investment in welfare safety nets for those who lose their jobs, the ILO senior official insisted, which is often inadequate in low-income countries.

According to the agency’s research, boosting social protection and expanding old age pensions would increase gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in low and middle-income countries by almost 15 per cent over a decade.

Social investment benefit

The annual cost of such measures would be around 1.6 per cent of GDP – a “large but not insurmountable” investment. Ms. Seppo suggested that the amount could be financed by a mix of social contributions, taxes and international support.

“There is an economic gain to investing in social protection”, she said.

Ms. Seppo also insisted that the need to create fiscal space for social investment in low-income countries should be considered “with urgency as part of the ongoing global discussion on the reform of the international financial architecture.”

Prepare for the future of work

While the unemployed divide projected by the report was worrisome, it was “not inevitable”, Ms. Seppo said, and the right concerted action on jobs and social protection funding could support a recovery and reconstruction which leaves no one behind.

In calling for improved capacity to develop “coherent, data-informed labour market policies” that protect the most vulnerable, the ILO senior official insisted that these should have an emphasis on upskilling and reskilling the labour force to prepare it for a “greener, more digital world of work”.

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UN chief strongly condemns DPRK spy satellite launch — Global Issues

The country, commonly known as North Korea, attempted to fire off its first military reconnaissance satellite earlier that day but it crashed into the sea, according to media reports.

The DPRK has reportedly pledged to conduct another launch after it learns what went wrong.

The UN chief noted that any launch using ballistic missile technology is contrary to relevant Security Council resolutions.

“The Secretary-General reiterates his call on the DPRK to cease such acts and to swiftly resume dialogue to achieve the goal of sustainable peace and the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” the statement said.

Chaos and confusion

The launch sparked confusion in neighbouring South Korea and in Japan.

Authorities in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, sent text messages urging residents to move to safety but later said they were sent in error.

The Japanese Government also issued a warning to people in Okinawa prefecture, located in the south of the country.

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UN humanitarians complete first food distribution in Khartoum as hunger, threats to children, intensify — Global Issues

WFP’s Country Director in Sudan, Eddie Rowe, told reporters in Geneva that in a major breakthrough, the agency distributed food assistance to 15,000 people in both Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) controlled areas of Omdurman, part of the Khartoum metropolitan area, beginning on Saturday.

Speaking from Port Sudan, Mr. Rowe highlighted other recent food distributions, in Wadi Halfa in Northern State to reach 8,000 people fleeing Khartoum and on their way to Egypt, as well as to 4,000 newly displaced people in Port Sudan.

Rapidly scaling up support

In total, WFP has been able to reach 725,000 people across 13 states in the country since it resumed its operations on 3 May, following a pause brought on by the killing of three aid workers at the start of the conflict.

Mr. Rowe said that WFP was rapidly scaling up its support, which they expected to expand depending on progress in negotiations for humanitarian access for all regions, including the Darfurs and Kordofans, strongly impacted by violence and displacement.

Hunger on the rise

In addition to the 16 million Sudanese who were already finding it “very difficult to afford a meal a day” before the fighting started, Mr. Rowe warned that the conflict compounded by the upcoming hunger season, could increase the food insecure population by about 2.5 million people in the coming months.

With the lean season fast approaching, WFP’s plan was to reach 5.9 million people across Sudan over the next six months, he said.

He stressed that WFP needed a total of $730 million to provide required assistance as well as telecommunications and logistics services to the humanitarian community, including all of the UN agencies operating in Sudan.

17,000 tonnes of food lost to looting

He also reiterated the humanitarian community’s call on all parties to the conflict to enable the safe delivery of urgently needed food aid, and deplored that so far, WFP had lost about 17,000 metric tonnes of food to widespread looting across the country, particularly in the Darfurs.

Just two days ago, he said, the agency’s main hub in El Obeid, North Kordofan, came under threat and looting of assets and vehicles was already confirmed.

Over 13 million children in need

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that “more children in Sudan today require lifesaving support than ever before”, with 13.6 million children in need of urgent assistance. “That’s more than the entire population of Sweden, of Portugal, of Rwanda,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva.

According to reports received by UNICEF, hundreds of girls and boys have been killed in the fighting. “While we are unable to confirm these due to the intensity of the violence, we also have reports that thousands of children have been maimed,” Mr. Elder said.

‘Death sentence’

He also pointed out that reports of children killed or injured are only those who had contact with a medical facility, meaning that the reality is “no doubt much worse” and compounded by a lack of access to life-saving services including nutrition, safe water, and healthcare.

Mr. Elder alerted that “all these factors combined, risk becoming a death sentence, especially for the most vulnerable”.

UNICEF called for funding to the tune of $838 million to address the crisis, an increase of $253 million since the current conflict began in April, to reach 10 million children. Mr. Elder stressed that only 5 per cent of the required amount had been received so far, and that without the therapeutic food and vaccines which this money would allow to secure, children would be dying.

Healthcare under attack

The dire situation of healthcare in the country has been aggravated by continuing attacks on medical facilities. From the start of the conflict on 15 till 25 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) verified 45 attacks on healthcare, which led to eight deaths and 18 injuries, the agency’s spokesperson Tarik Jašarević said.

He also cited reports of military occupation of hospitals and medical supplies warehouses, which made it impossible for people in need to access chronic disease medicines or malaria treatment. Mr. Jašarević recalled that attacks on healthcare are a violation of international humanitarian law and must stop.

Keep borders open: Grandi

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, concluded a three-day visit to Egypt on Tuesday, with an urgent call for support for people fleeing Sudan – and the countries hosting them – insisting that the borders must remain open.

More than 170,000 people have entered Egypt since the conflict started – many through Qoustul, a border crossing that Grandi visited close to the end of his trip. The country hosts around half of the more than 345,000 people who have recently fled Sudan.

Mr. Grandi met newly arrived refugees and Egyptian border officials, to get a sense of the hardships being endured.

Loss ‘on a huge scale’

“I heard harrowing experiences: loss of life and property on a huge scale,” Grandi said. “People spoke of risky and expensive journeys to arrive here to safety. Many families have been torn apart. They are traumatized and urgently need our protection and support.“

The UNHCR chief also held talks with the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and discussed how best to support refugees and mobilize resources for host countries, not least Egypt.

“I commend Egypt for its long-standing commitment to providing a safe haven to those fleeing violence,” Mr. Grandi said. “The Government, the Egyptian Red Cresent and the people, have been very generous in supporting arrivals. We urgently need to mobilize more resources to help them to maintain this generosity.”

Prior to this conflict, Egypt was already host to a large refugee population of 300,000 people from 55 different nationalities.

After registering with UNHCR, refugees and asylum-seekers have access to a wide range of services including health and education. UNHCR’s emergency cash assistance programme started during the last week.

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WMO makes urgent call to action over melting cryosphere — Global Issues

WMO warned on Tuesday that glaciers and ice sheet melt in Greenland and Antarctica accounts for some 50 per cent of sea level rise, which is accelerating, with disastrous impacts on small island developing states (SIDS) and densely populated coastal areas.

Glacier melt

The average thickness of the world’s glaciers has plummeted by almost 30 metres since 1970.

“The cryosphere issue is a hot topic not just for the Arctic and Antarctic, but it is a global issue,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

The irreversible changes in the global cryosphere will affect well over a billion people who rely on water from snow and glacier melt, WMO said.

‘Sleeping giant’ of carbon emissions

The agency also called melting Arctic permafrost a “sleeping giant” of greenhouse gases, as it stores twice as much carbon as there is in the atmosphere today.

WMO said it has made this burning issue one of its top priorities and called for better predictions and intensified research, data exchange and investment.

Sea level rise, ice and glaciers are among the climate indicators monitored by WMO and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The WMO State of the Global Climate 2022 report highlighted the shocking extent of change.

So-called “reference glaciers” which WMO is monitoring in the long-term, experienced an average thickness change of over −1.3 metres between October 2021 and October 2022. This loss is much larger than the average of the last decade, the agency said.

Alpine record

The European Alps smashed records for glacier melt, exacerbated by a winter of little snow: in Switzerland, six per cent of the glacier ice volume was lost between 2021 and 2022 – and one third between 2001 and 2022.

The Greenland Ice Sheet ended with a negative total mass balance for the 26th year in a row.

Sea ice in Antarctica dropped to 1.92 million km2 on February 25, last year – the lowest level on record and almost one million km2 below the long-term mean – measured from 1991 to 2020.

Arctic sea ice in September at the end of the summer melt tied for the 11th lowest monthly minimum ice extent in the satellite record.

The rate of global mean sea level rise has doubled between the first decade of the satellite record, said WMO.

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International Day of UN Peacekeepers honours 75 years of service and sacrifice — Global Issues

“United Nations peacekeepers are the beating heart of our commitment to a more peaceful world,” Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for the Day.

Mr. Guterres called for greater support for these men and women, who help countries to transition from war to peace.

Hope and help

“They are also critical to the protection of civilians caught up in the chaos of these deadly conflicts, providing a lifeline of hope and help in some of the most dangerous contexts imaginable,” he added.

He noted that many have paid the ultimate price as more than 4,200 peacekeepers have lost their lives serving under the UN flag.

“We stand in sympathy and solidarity with their families, friends and colleagues, and will forever be inspired by their selfless devotion to the cause of peace,” he said.

Support and recognition

Today, more than 87,000 peacekeepers from 125 countries serve in 12 UN operations located in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

They face rising global tensions and divides, stagnating peace processes, and more complex conflicts, the Secretary-General said.

“Despite these obstacles, and working with a wide range of partners, peacekeepers persevere,” he added

“To people living under the shadow of conflict, our teams of Blue Helmets represent hope. As peacekeepers support humanity, let us always support and recognize them.”

‘Peace begins with me’

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers has been commemorated annually on 29 May, in line with a UN General Assembly resolution adopted in 2002.

The date marks the start of the first UN peacekeeping mission, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), in Palestine in 1948.

The theme of the 75th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping is ‘Peace begins with me’, which recognizes the service and sacrifice of blue helmets, past and present. It also pays tribute to the resilience of the communities they serve, who continue to strive for peace despite many obstacles.

UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Two officers take part in the Inside Out Action event held to commemorate UN Peacekeeping’s 75th anniversary in Times Square, New York City.

The annual ceremony marking the Day was held on Thursday at UN Headquarters in New York, where the Secretary-General noted that peacekeepers “are increasingly working in places where there is no peace to keep.”

The following day, the city played host to an interactive art installation in Times Square celebrating peacekeepers and all those who work together to build and maintain peace across the world, including community members and local influencers in places where UN missions operate.

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UN agencies warn of rising hunger risk in 18 ‘hotspots’ — Global Issues

Sudan, Burkina Faso, Haiti and Mali have been elevated to the highest alert level, joining Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

Additionally, a likely El Niño – a naturally occurring climatic phenomenon that has a warming effect on ocean surface temperatures in the central and east Pacific – is also raising fears of climate extremes in vulnerable nations.

Against ‘business-as-usual’

The report calls for urgent humanitarian action to save lives and livelihoods, and to prevent starvation and death.

“Business-as-usual pathways are no longer an option in today’s risk landscape if we want to achieve global food security for all, ensuring that no one is left behind,” said Dongyu Qu, the FAO Director-General.

He underlined the need for immediate interventions in the agricultural sector “to pull people from the brink of hunger, help them rebuild their lives, and provide long-term solutions to address the root causes of food insecurity.”

Worse than ever

Acute food insecurity is set to potentially increase in 18 hunger “hotspots”, comprising a total of 22 countries, according to the report.

“Not only are more people in more places around the world going hungry, but the severity of the hunger they face is worse than ever,” said Cindy McCain, WFP Executive Director.

The Sudan conflict is already driving mass displacement and hunger. More than one million citizens and refugees are expected to flee the country, while an additional 2.5 million inside its borders are set to face acute hunger in the coming months.

The report warned that a possible spillover of the crisis raises the risk of negative impacts in neighbouring countries. If the conflict continues, it could spark further displacement and disruptions to trade and humanitarian aid flows.

Economic shocks continue

Meanwhile, economic shocks and stressors continue to drive acute hunger in almost all the hotspots, carrying over trends seen globally in 2022, largely due to fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen remain at the highest alert level for acute hunger.

Alongside Sudan, three other countries – Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali – also have been elevated to this level because of movement restrictions affecting people and goods.

“All hotspots at the highest level have communities facing or projected to face starvation, or are at risk of sliding towards catastrophic conditions, given they have already emergency levels of food insecurity and are facing severe aggravating factors. These hotspots require the most urgent attention,” the UN agencies said.

The report listed the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan and Syria as hotspots with very high concern, along with Myanmar.

All of these countries have a large number of people facing critical acute food insecurity, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to further intensify life‑threatening conditions in the coming months.

The other hotspots are Lebanon, Malawi, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Sudan food distributions

Meanwhile in Sudan, WFP began distributing food assistance on Saturday to thousands of people trapped in the capital, Khartoum, since fighting broke out six weeks ago.

The distributions came in the last days of the seven-day ceasefire agreed by the army, which was set to expire on Monday evening, local time

“This isa major breakthrough. We have finally been able to help families who are stuck in Khartoum and struggling to make it through each day as food and basic supplies dwindle,” said Eddie Rowe, WFP Country Director.

Staff have been working round the clock to reach people in the city since the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and rival military group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), erupted in mid-April.

“A window opened late last week which allowed us to start food distributions,” Mr. Rowe said, adding that “WFP must do more, but that depends on the parties to the conflict and the security and access they realistically guarantee on the ground.”

Stepping up support

WFP is rapidly expanding distribution of emergency food assistance across Sudan.

Latest updates including distributions to some 12,445 people in locations controlled by both sides in Omdurman, part of the Khartoum metropolitan area.

More food assistance has been prepositioned to continue distributions in the capital for as long as the security situation allows, with the goal of reaching at least 500,000 people.

Food and nutrition distributions also began over the weekend in Wadi Halfa in Northern State to around 8,000 Sudanese who have fled Khartoum and are making the long journey to Egypt. Last week WFP also began distributions to 4,000 newly displaced people in Port Sudan, a city on the Red Sea Coast.

The UN agency has rapidly scaled up support to reach 675,000 people so far with emergency food and nutrition assistance in 13 of Sudan’s 18 states since resuming operations earlier this month. Activities were halted after three staff were killed in North Darfur on 15 April, the first day of the conflict.

As hunger rises, WFP is expanding to support 5.9 million people across the country and requires $731 million to reach them.

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