Category: Pacific

Humanitarian needs in the country have increased, the UN agency said, with all 34 provinces facing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity.  ⏯️On the ground in #Afghanistan, working tirelessly to meet the most pressing needs of the Afghan people. WFP needs US$ 2.6 billion to ramp up our life-saving support to reach 24 million people in 2022. The task is mammoth but so is our determination. pic.twitter.com/H9SCJbGLwz — World Food Programme (@WFP) December 1, 2021 As a result, some 23 million Afghans require urgent food assistance, a figure never seen before.  This includes more than three million children…

Shahpirai, 30, is the sole provider for her husband and three children. “With my salary as a teacher, I could just afford to pay rent and buy food for my family, but not to seek treatment for my child”, she said. An upturn Her situation took a turn for the better last July, when while walking through her village she noticed people gathered in front of an elder’s house. “I asked what was going on and learned that some doctors were treating sick women and children”. The doctors were part…

Oggro Dairy is the first social enterprise dedicated to agriculture in Bangladesh. Founded in 2007 by Mr. Alam, the enterprise works with farmers across the country, producing a variety of agricultural products such as milk, potato, corn, and orchids. The aim is to create positive social impact for farmers, especially women and youth, offer fair pricing, high quality products to customers, and to conserve the environment.  Find out more in this feature from our colleagues at UN Video: [embedded content] Source UN News

Arman Abdolali, 25, is the second juvenile offender to be executed in the country this year.    OHCHR expressed serious concern that his case follows the pattern of child offenders being convicted after a flawed trial and on the basis of forced confessions.  “It is deeply alarming and shocking that his hanging went ahead, despite interventions by numerous parties on the case, including direct engagement by the UN Human Rights Office with the Government of Iran,” Spokesperson Liz Throssell said in a statement.  Mr. Abdolali, who was 17 when he…

Jeanine Plasschaert, Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said clashes erupted in the weeks following the vote, with demonstrations and sit-ins escalating into violence and casualties reported. 🎥 | Briefing (As Delivered) by SRSG and head of UNAMI, Ms. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, at the 8910th meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation concerning #Iraq, held via video-teleconference from Baghdad on Tuesday, 23 November 2021.https://t.co/VbIqkXZqyF — UNAMI (@UNIraq) November 23, 2021 On 7 November, an assassination attempt was made on Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi when an exploding drone…

Since beginning a hunger strike, Ms. Zhan’s health has deteriorating rapidly, she is unable to walk, and her life is in danger, the rights experts said.   “Failure by the Chinese authorities to act swiftly and effectively could have fatal consequences for Zhang Zhan”, the Special Rapporteurs warned in a joint statement before calling for her immediate and unconditional release, along with medical treatment.  According to the UN experts, who are appointed by the Human Rights Council, the 38-year-old woman has been detained in Shanghai since May 2020.  Jail term  She is serving a four-year sentence on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and was originally arrested after posting online a video that criticized the Government’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, the experts explained.  They added…

Herder community members., by Snow Leopard Conservation Founda The Ensuring Sustainability and Resilience (ENSURE) of Green Landscapes in Mongolia project, integrates biodiversity conservation and sustainable land and forest management, and covers the full range of Mongolia’s diverse ecological zones, from dry deserts, to steppe, boreal forests, and alpine mountain ranges. This involves sharing best practice measures for the protection and management of globally threatened and iconic fauna, such as the musk deer, including community-based mobile anti-poaching units, and the implementation of stiff penalties for poaching. You can find out more…

“In the past two years, my reality, yours, and many others, has changed dramatically. Not overnight, but rather, over a series of incremental global disruptions that began with the news of an unknown pneumonia outbreak. While all countries face the common threat of a deadly virus, clearly the pandemic has not proven to be “the great equalizer”, as deep-seated inequalities between the Global North and South shape each country’s path of survivability in this era of multidimensional crises, with some winning first, and others lagging behind.  But the pandemic is…

While humanitarian access has never been better, prices are soaring and needs continue to outpace the resources provided, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) explained.  “The situation is disastrous. Every farmer we’ve spoken to has lost almost all of their crops this year, many were forced to sell their livestock, they have accumulated enormous debts and simply have no money,” said Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan.  “No farmer wants to leave their land. But when you have no food, you have no grain from the previous harvest, there are…

UN News spoke with Samantha Mort, Chief of Communication, Advocacy and Civic Engagement at UNICEF Afghanistan, who assured that all offices remain open and warehouses full.  Some 22.8 million people across the country are facing food insecurity, she explained, adding that they cannot access affordable or nutritious food.   Of the 38 million people living in Afghanistan, some 14 million children are food insecure.  For Ms. Mort, “there’s no childhood” these days in Afghanistan. “It’s all about survival and getting through the next day.”  ‘The perfect storm’   She painted a grim picture of impoverished families in which parents are not eating three meals a day, meal portions are decreasing and people wake up not knowing where the next meal is coming from.    “It’s that level of food insecurity”, said the UNICEF…