Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
- Secretary-General/Travels
- Ukraine
- Haiti
- Burkina Faso
- Sudan
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Hybrid Briefing Today
SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS
The Secretary-General arrived in Viet Nam earlier today where he, upon arrival, met with the State President, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and later with the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong. He also took part in a ceremony to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Viet Nam’s membership in the United Nations.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General said we need justice, greater solidarity and greater cooperation, and nowhere do we need it more – and more urgently – than in our fight against the climate crisis. He emphasized that action on loss and damage is a moral imperative that must be front and centre at the forthcoming COP[27] Climate Conference in Sharm-el-Sheikh.
The Secretary-General also stressed the need to ensure respect for fundamental freedoms – including freedom of expression and association. To protect civil society working to bring these rights to life – and to ensure their full engagement – from journalists and human rights defenders to environmental advocates. The Secretary-General said that the UN looks forward to deepening its work with Viet Nam for peace, sustainable development, as well as human rights for all.
And tomorrow, he will meet with the Prime Minister of Viet Nam (Pham Minh Chinh) and will participate in a dialogue with Vietnamese youth and student representatives. He will also visit the Viet Nam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration to talk about climate adaptation and climate change.
The Secretary-General will be back in New York on Monday.
UKRAINE
In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that yesterday and today, missile attacks in the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia caused civilian casualties and damaged civilian infrastructure, including a school in Zaporizhzhia.
Power outages continue across four northern and central oblasts of Ukraine [Cherkaska, Chernihivska, Kyivska and Zhytomyrska] as well as in the capital, Kyiv.
On 20 October, an inter-agency convoy delivered eight trucks of shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene materials to Velyka Oleksandrivka, a newly retaken area of southern Khersonska oblast. Supplies were provided by the International Organization for Migration, the UN Refugee Agency and the World Health Organization.
Also on 20 October, working with a local NGO, UNHCR delivered emergency shelter materials to a settlement in Zaporizhka. The delivery followed a missile attack which damaged or destroyed about 200 homes according to our local partner.
UNHCR also provided generators and fan heaters to local authorities in the northern Sumska oblast to enable hospitals and other civilian infrastructure to keep running following missile attacks.
As a reminder, this afternoon, there will be an open meeting of the Security Council on Ukraine. UN briefers will include Denise Brown, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine and Rosemary Di Carlo, the Head of the Political and Peacebuilding Department.
HAITI
In Haiti, UN colleagues and local partners are working alongside the Government, despite the many operational challenges, to respond to the needs of people impacted by cholera.
Under the lead of the Haitian Ministry of Health, the Pan American Health Organization has supported partners for the opening of 13 cholera treatment centres with a maximum capacity of 585 beds. As of today, we are told that more than 100 of those beds are still available to treat patients.
Oral rehydration points are also being established in impacted communities to treat milder cases and refer others to in-patient facilities.
PAHO, in cooperation with the UN system and NGO partners, are assisting health authorities to train about 150 of its community health workers and is due to train 150 more. They will conduct risk communication and community engagement activities as well as the surveillance and reporting of cases, notably in Cité Soleil, one of the most vulnerable and impacted neighbourhoods in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
For its part, the UN Children’s agency, UNICEF, is supporting the Haitian authorities and partners with chlorine, water-purifying tablets, hygiene kits and medical supplies, such as oral rehydration salts.
The agency is also deploying mobile health clinics in Cité Soleil.
The UN humanitarian air service - UNHAS - is helping to deliver medical supplies to other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, we continue to inform people on how to prevent getting cholera. UNICEF has launched a series of radio spots and PAHO has sent out a million SMS messages and is due to send out more.
Full highlights: [ Ссылка ]
