The deadly threat of lightning strikes, as well as their damaging impact on a country’s development, has been recognized in a new project supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
Here are our top stories for this Tuesday: a focus on conflict-related sexual violence at the Security Council, a groundbreaking trial for a malaria vaccine in Malawi, thousands seeking shelter in Libya’s capital as fighting continues, concerns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after the attack of an Ebola treatment centre, an update on the death toll of the Sri Lanka attacks, and the Security Council’s condemnation of the killing of peacekeepers in Mali.
More than 305,000 children in Mozambique are losing out on lessons at school since the devastating floods caused by Cyclone Idai, which struck southeast Africa just over a month ago.
Cyclone Idai and the mounting death toll is “yet another alarm bell about the dangers of climate change” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, warning that vulnerable countries like Mozambique, would be hit the hardest unless urgent action is taken by nations across the world.
Efforts are continuing to reach all victims of Cyclone Idai in southern Africa where a senior relief chief has warned of a “water, sanitation and hygiene ticking bomb”, as the scale of the emergency continues to unfold, and the official death toll rises.
A week after the flooded Mozambican port of Beira was hit by Cyclone Idai, “aid agencies are barely beginning to see the scale of the damage”, the head of UNICEF said on Saturday, as she called for more international support to help quickly get relief to more than a million people across the country and prevent the possible spread of waterborne diseases like cholera.
Half of all those affected by Tropical Cyclone Idai in southern Africa are extremely vulnerable children, UNICEF said on Friday, as its Executive Director Henrietta Fore visited the region.
Describing the scene from Mozambique, the country worst-hit by the flooding and devastation caused by the cyclone, Ms’ Fore said that the situation for children who survived Idai is “desperate.”
Speaking to Daniel Johnson from UN News in Geneva, UNICEF spokesperson Christophe Boulierac gave an update on the latest situation on the ground in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
The world needs to step up support for the survivors of Tropical Cyclone Idai, the UN Secretary-General said on Friday, in a strong personal appeal as relief workers rush to provide aid to people stranded across the storm countries in southern Africa.
Dire conditions persist in vast areas of southern Africa affected by Cyclone Idai as heavy rain continues to cause “massive destruction”, the UN said on Thursday, while aid teams scale up efforts to reach those most in need.
As the full scale of the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai in southern Africa continues to be assessed, the UN and humanitarian partners are ramping up the provision of emergency food, shelter, water and health care supplies to hundreds-of-thousands who have been affected across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
