United Nations published this video item, entitled “Secretary-General’s call with U.S. SecState, Myanmar & other topics – Daily Briefing (12 March 2021)” – below is their description.
Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Mali
– Secretary-General’s call with U.S. Secretary of State
– Myanmar
– Yemen
– Ethiopia
– UNICEF/Vaccines
– Madagascar
– Rwanda
– COVID in Africa
– Guinea-Bissau
– World Radio Day
– Day Against Child Soldiers
– Honour Roll
MALI
In Mali, one of the Togolese peacekeepers wounded during Wednesday’s attack has succumbed to his injuries.
The U.N. offers its deepest condolences to his family, to the people and Government of Togo, and all of our colleagues in the Peacekeeping mission. We continue to wish a speedy and full recovery to all the others who are receiving medical attention.
Twenty-eight peacekeepers were wounded during a complex attack on their temporary base located in Kerena, near Douentza, in Central Mali.
The base was set up recently to better protect the local population, bring back calm in areas impacted by inter-communal violence, as well as to reduce the threat of improvised explosive devices.
SECRETARY-GENERAL’S CALL WITH U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE
The U.N. has issued a readout of the Secretary-General’s call with Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State of the United States.
During their conversation, the Secretary-General expressed his deep appreciation for the critically important and strong partnership between the U.S. and the United Nations, particularly on issues such as COVID, the climate emergency, multiple peace and security crises, as well as the increasing threats they all pose to human rights.
The Secretary-General particularly welcomed the U.S.’ rejoining the Paris Agreement, as well as its reengagement with the World Health Organization as well as the UN Human Rights Council.
They also talked about a number of situations, including Syria and Yemen.
MYANMAR
The U.N. in Myanmar is following the unfolding events with great concern, including the reports of arbitrary detentions, arrests and violence.
The Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the United Nations in Myanmar, Ola Almgren, said the UN, as well as its partners have, for many years, been responding to humanitarian needs caused by conflict and natural disasters in Myanmar. He stressed that it is our absolute intention to continue to do this work under the current circumstances.
Mr. Almgren said it is essential that lifesaving humanitarian assistance continues unimpeded and that humanitarian partners are given timely and safe access to the populations in need. He noted that, as always, our humanitarian response is guided by internationally recognized principles of neutrality, impartiality, independence and humanity.
Last year, thanks to the generous support of donors, 930,000 women, children and men in conflict-impacted areas received food assistance, 250,000 people accessed essential healthcare services, and hundreds of thousands received nutrition support.
This year, the Myanmar Humanitarian Response Plan aims to help nearly one million people in need of humanitarian assistance and we are seeking $276 million for that.
YEMEN
In Yemen, a new report says that nearly 2.3 million children under the age of five are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year. Of these, 400,000 are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition and could die if they do not receive urgent treatment.
These figures are from a new report released jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO), along with other partners.
The agencies warn that these are among the highest levels of severe acute malnutrition recorded in Yemen since the escalation of conflict in 2015.
The head of WFP, David Beasley, said these numbers are yet another cry for help from Yemen, where each malnourished child also means a family struggling to survive.
The humanitarian response plan for Yemen remains critically underfunded. In 2020, the plan received only US$1.9 billion of the US$3.4 billion it required.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=12%20February%202021
United Nations YouTube Channel
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