Category: Pacific

Jolina, 23, is eight months pregnant and lives in Burgos on the island of Siargao, which suffered some of the worst fallout of the typhoon. Her nearest health centre was completely destroyed and she will likely have to travel some 50 kilometres to give birth, she told the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, which is busy providing service… Read More

The revised Humanitarian Needs and Priorities Plan (HNP) targets 840,000 people over six months, up from 530,000 in the initial $107 million HNP, released on 24 December.  📢 7 weeks after #typhoonRai/#OdettePH: – 9.9M people severely affected – 840K people targeted for assistance– $169M funding requested The UN and partners are providing food, shelter material and other essentials but more… Read More

“We are gravely concerned for their well-being and safety”, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told journalists at a regular press briefing in Geneva.  Despite the de facto authorities’ announcement on Saturday of an investigation into the disappearance two weeks ago of these individuals, “there is still no confirmed information on their whereabouts”, she added.  The UN human rights… Read More

“This is a breaking of the DPRK’s announced moratorium in 2018 on launches of this nature, and a clear violation of Security Council resolutions”, he said in a statement issued by his deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq. Secretary-General @antonioguterres condemns the possible intermediate range ballistic missile launch by the DPR Korea, noting it is of great concern that the country has again disregarded any consideration for… Read More

In May 2021, India’s hospitals were at breaking point. The country found itself at the epicentre of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the biggest challenges was providing enough medical oxygen for the sickest patients, unable to breathe unaided, as demand rose ten-fold.By the end of April, there were just under 18 million confirmed cases, and over 200,000 deaths.… Read More

Speaking to journalists in New York, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Noeleen Heyzer, urged the international community to “use this opening to help Myanmar work towards a common vision for their country.” “The road ahead will be long and difficult, but the time to act is now”, she said.  Escalation According to her, there has been “a broad-based resistance movement built… Read More

These are some of the disturbing statistics contained in a new report published on Friday by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), showing how the crisis is forcing young people to drop out of school and engage in ill-paid, irregular work just to survive and help feed their families. The report also says that 31 per cent of young people are not in… Read More

Ms. Bachelet reported that this week she spoke in person with “determined, courageous” human rights defenders who are pleading for the international community not to abandon them, but to take robust effective measures to ensure their rights are protected and that the military is held accountable.  Heed the call  “I urge governments – in the region and beyond – as… Read More

“At this moment, we need the global community – and this Council – to put their hands on the wheel of progress, provide resources, and prevent Afghanistan from spiraling any further,” he said.  Daily life has become a frozen hell for the people of Afghanistan. As a matter of moral responsibility — and regional and global security and prosperity —… Read More

Pauline Vaiangina, her husband, and their four young children, who live in Tongatapu, Tonga’s main island, were visiting their grandmother on the tiny remote island, when Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai erupted. Sudden explosions “It was a Saturday like any other”, says Pauline. We had just finished eating fish for dinner and I was washing the plates, when the dogs barked… Read More