This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.
Gaza: Aid access to north entirely blocked amid escalating war in south
Reports of hundreds of fatalities from bombing in southern Gaza at the weekend heightened deep alarm over the plight of civilians there, while UN humanitarians said that aid access to the north was “entirely blocked”.
The latest update from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, confirmed rising casualties and devastation amid “heavy Israeli bombardment from air, land and sea”.
OCHA said that at least 316 people were killed and at least another 664 injured in Gaza from Saturday 2 December through Sunday the third.
An Israeli soldier was also reportedly killed in the enclave at the weekend and another succumbed to wounds sustained previously, the UN aid office update said.
COP28: Call to aid developing countries coping with climate shocks
COP28 news now from Dubai where advocates calling for funding to help developing countries withstand climate shocks have been highlighting the devastating impact on their communities, and in particular, on youngsters and women.
Senegalese singer and rapper Oumy Gueye, whose stage name is OMG, told delegates that she embraced climate action after her grandparents’ home was destroyed by rising seas.
She has been collaborating with UN aid coordination office OCHA to advocate for humanitarian causes in the Sahel – which is seeing one of the world’s fastest-growing humanitarian emergencies.
Ms Gueye is part of the “My Sahel” project whose proceeds are split between the contributing artists and the OCHA-managed humanitarian fund for West and Central Africa.
Senegal already faces hotter temperatures and rising sea levels which are destroying livelihoods and homes, driving poverty, violence and fuelling migration across perilous routes.
According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), some 3.5 billion people, nearly half the world’s population, live in areas that are highly vulnerable to climate change.
Somalia floods leave more than one million displaced
And staying with climate news, flooding in Somalia has uprooted more than one million people and killed 110, UN humanitarians in the country said in their latest situation report on Monday.
Rising waters caused by torrential downpours have actually affected more than 2.4 million in the east African nation, while UN aid teams are increasingly concerned about the spread of water-borne diseases.
Suspected cases of cholera have already been reported and humanitarians have highlighted how much of a threat this poses to communities with only limited healthcare support.
UN and partner humanitarian organizations, authorities and locals have assisted at least 820,000 people in need, with at least 37 boats deployed to deliver supplies or evacuate trapped people.
To date, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia which requires $2.6 billion to help 7.6 million of Somalia’s most vulnerable people is only 42 per cent funded.
Daniel Johnson, UN News.
Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).
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