Category: Pacific

According to the 2020 Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition, the region’s poor have been worst affected, forced to choose cheaper and less nutritious foods. The report is jointly produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).  “The outbreak of COVID-19 and a lack of decent work opportunities in many parts of the region, alongside significant uncertainty of food systems and markets, has led to a worsening of inequality, as poorer families with…

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On 16 January, the first day of the campaign, 207,229 vaccine shots were given across the country, one of the worst-hit by COVID-19, with over 10 million COVID-19 infections and 150,000 deaths.  “[We] provided technical assistance to the Government of India for the development of operational guidelines and other training materials for state and district programme managers and vaccinators, and establishing tracking and accountability frameworks”, Roderico H. Ofrin, WHO Representative in India said.  “WHO field officers have facilitated the highest-level oversight through regular task force meetings at state and district…

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The earthquake unleashed dozens of aftershocks, some six kilometres northeast of the city of Majene,  causing heavy damage across the city, including to the five-story Mitra Manakarra Hospital where eight people were reportedly trapped inside.   “The Governor’s office, two hotels, a mall, a community health centre, and over 300 houses also sustained damage”, said the spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jens Laerke.  Rippling effects   Local authorities have reported that 638 people have been injured and more than 18,000 have been temporarily displaced to…

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The fire erupted shortly after midnight on Thursday (local time) in the Nayapara refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, gutting about 550 shelters and 150 shops. A community centre is also said to have been destroyed.  This week, a large fire broke out in the #Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, #Bangladesh. There were no casualties, but 3500 people were affected and 550 shelters &150 shops were destroyed. WFP is providing emergency food assistance including hot meals to families in need. pic.twitter.com/pD2neR5Ahu — World Food Programme (@WFP) January 15, 2021 About 3,500…

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The fire erupted shortly after midnight on Thursday (local time) in the Nayapara refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, gutting about 550 shelters and 150 shops. A community centre is also said to have been destroyed.  This week, a large fire broke out in the #Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, #Bangladesh. There were no casualties, but 3500 people were affected and 550 shelters &150 shops were destroyed. WFP is providing emergency food assistance including hot meals to families in need. pic.twitter.com/pD2neR5Ahu — World Food Programme (@WFP) January 15, 2021 About 3,500…

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The fire erupted shortly after midnight on Thursday (local time) in the Nayapara refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, gutting about 550 shelters and 150 shops. A community centre is also said to have been destroyed.  This week, a large fire broke out in the #Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, #Bangladesh. There were no casualties, but 3500 people were affected and 550 shelters &150 shops were destroyed. WFP is providing emergency food assistance including hot meals to families in need. pic.twitter.com/pD2neR5Ahu — World Food Programme (@WFP) January 15, 2021 About 3,500…

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The number of people targeted for assistance is over a six-fold increase compared to four years ago, when 2.3 million people were targeted for assistance, according to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General.  The situation of children is particularly worrying.  “It is projected that nearly one in two children under the age of five will face acute malnutrition this year,” Mr. Dujarric said on Monday.  Hunger is “soaring” as people have lost their livelihoods, he added, noting that in 2021, nearly half of Afghanistan’s population will need humanitarian assistance…

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For people living off-grid in remote villages in Laos, solar energy offers a clean, sustainable way to bring electricity for all, and the promise to transform their lives. In Ko Bong and Tha Phai Bai, in the centre of the South East Asian country, only a small number of people used to benefit from electricity, provided by unreliable, polluting and expensive diesel generators, thus limiting the possibilities for economic development. Today, however, the picture is very different, thanks to a UN Development Programme (UNDP) initiative that has provided both villages…

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“They are then frequently held incommunicado for long periods in pre-trial detention, with regular reports of violations of the right to a fair trial and concerns about their treatment in detention”, Ravina Shamdasani, an OHCHR spokesperson, said at a media briefing in Geneva.  “Several of them have received lengthy sentences following their conviction for crimes against national security”, she added.   According to OHCHR, Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy and Le Huu Minh Tuan, respectively the chairperson, the vice chairperson and member of the Independent Journalists Association of Viet…

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Fifty-three political activists, academics, former legislators, current district councillors, and lawyers, were arrested on Wednesday, according to the office.  Liz Throssell, OHCHR spokesperson, said that the arrests were the latest in a series of detentions related to the exercise of fundamental freedoms, including the right to peaceful assembly, in Hong Kong.  “These latest arrests indicate that – as had been feared – the offence of subversion under the National Security Law is indeed being used to detain individuals for exercising legitimate rights to participate in political and public life”, she said.  Ms.…

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