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Geneva/New York, September 6 – Humanitarian organizations are jointly urging donors to step up life-saving assistance in Somalia, saying that the window of opportunity to prevent famine is closing in the country which saw over 250,000 people, at least half of them children, died during the last famine in 2011.

A group of 20 Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, from the World Food Program and World Health Organization to Save the Children United States and CARE International, issued a warning that famine is unfolding in Baidoa and Burhakaba districts in the Bay region in South-Central Somalia, and will likely last until March 2023 “if humanitarian aid is not significantly and immediately scaled up.”

“Starvation and death are likely already occurring,” said the warning.

“Somalia has reached a tipping point,” it said. “The lives of hundreds of thousands of people are at immediate risk, according to the latest food security and nutrition analysis. Millions more face extreme levels of acute hunger. Women, particularly pregnant and lactating women, and children under the age of five are among the most vulnerable. They require urgent assistance to avert a worst-case scenario.

“In total, across the Horn of Africa, 20.5 million people are facing a dire and entirely avoidable hunger crisis. This is unacceptable.”

“We appeal to donors to provide immediate, flexible funding to enable humanitarian agencies on the ground, particularly local and international NGOs, to rapidly scale up and prevent more deaths, protect livelihoods and avert a deepening catastrophe. Getting aid to rural communities before they are forced to abandon their homes in search of food is critical.”

(Definition of famine provided by WFP: Famine is a technical definition based on specific thresholds: that at least 20 per cent of the population is affected, with about one out of three children being acutely malnourished and two people dying per day for every 10,000 inhabitants due to outright starvation or to the interaction of malnutrition and disease.}

WFP said its life-saving humanitarian assistance in Somalia has reached 3.7 million people but “famine is now an imminent reality unless immediate and drastic action is taken.”

“We know from experience that we cannot wait for a formal declaration of famine to act. Even before we first warned of the risk of famine, we were working to scale up our life-saving support in Somalia as far as resources have allowed. Since April, we have more than doubled the number of people we are supporting with humanitarian assistance, reaching record numbers in Somalia,” said Margot van der Velden, WFP Director of Emergencies, speaking from Mogadishu. ”But the drought crisis is still deteriorating and famine is closer than ever. The world must respond now, while we still have a chance to prevent catastrophe.”

List of Signatories:

Mr. Martin Griffiths, Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Mr. Qu Dongyu, Director General, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Ms. Shahin Ashraf, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) Chair a.i. (Head of Global Advocacy – Islamic Relief Worldwide)

Mr. Ignacio Packer, Executive Director, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)

Mr. Samuel Worthington, Chief Executive Officer, InterAction

Ms. Janti Soeripto, President and Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children United States

Ms. Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Corps

Mr. António Vitorino, Director General, International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Ms. Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Mr. Andrew Morley, Chair, Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR) (President and World Vision International)

Ms. Sofia Sprechmann Sineiro, Vice Chair SCHR (Secretary General of CARE International)

Mr. Gareth Price-Jones, Executive Secretary, Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR)

Ms. Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (SR on HR of IDPs)

Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat)

Mr. Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Ms. Catherine Russell, Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Mr. David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP)

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)

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New York, August 29 – Afghanistan’s people continue to face extreme hardship and uncertainty but among the 19 million people facing acute levels of food security are 3 million children with one million of them suffering a form of malnutrition that could kill them, the top UN humanitarian coordinator told the UN Security Council.

Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the UN humanitarian team, NGOs and other organizations working in Afghanistan have found it challenging and “labor intensive” to deal with the de facto Taliban authorities in Kabul.

“An estimated 3 million children are acutely malnourished,” Griffiths told the 15-nation council convened to discuss the dire living conditions in the country. “They include over 1 million children estimated to be suffering from the most severe, life-threatening form of malnutrition. Without specialized treatment, they could die.”

He said close to 19 million are suffering acute levels of malnutrition caused by recurrent drought, including the worst in three decades in 2021, and 6 million of them are at risks of famine. Griffiths said 8 out of 10 Afghans drink contaminated water, which caused repeated bouts of acute watery diarrhoea.

Griffiths provided alarming facts regarding the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. He said around 25 million people, or about half of the country’s population, are now living in poverty who spend three quarters of their income on food. The number of Afghans receiving remittances have dropped 50 per cent and unemployment grew to 40 per cent while inflation has risen due to increased global prices, import constraints and currency depreciation.

Afghanistan was hit in June by a 5.9-magnitude earthquake that affected 362,000 people living in high-intensity impact areas and heavy rains since July caused massive flash floods across the country, killing and injuring hundreds of people, and destroying hundreds of homes as well as thousands of acres of crops. An estimated 5.8 million people remain in protracted internal displacement requiring long term solutions.

“All these figures are devastating and difficult to comprehend,” Griffiths said. “We worry that they will soon become worse. Once the cold weather sets in, food and fuel prices – already high – will skyrocket, and families will have to choose between feeding their children, sending them to school, taking them to a doctor when they fall sick, or keeping them warm. Large-scale development assistance has been halted for a year.”

“The operating environment is exceptionally challenging.” “Engaging with the de facto authorities at national and sub-national levels is laborintensive,” Griffiths said, adding that there is “no confidence” in the domestic banking sector, which led to a severe liquidity crisis and international financial transactions “are extremely hard due to de-risking and overcompliance of global banks.” He cited the case in which humanitarian organizations brought in over US$1 billion in cash to sustain program delivery, “but the liquidity and banking crisis continues to impact the delivery of assistance and Afghans’ daily lives.”

 “The Humanitarian Exchange Facility, meant to temporarily and partially alleviate this, is still under deliberation with the de facto authorities.”

Women and girls have been pushed to the sidelines.  “The meagre gains the country made to protect women’s rights have been quickly reversed. It’s been more than a year since adolescent girls in Afghanistan last set foot inside a classroom. In the 21st century, we should not need to explain why girls’ education and women’s empowerment are important to them, to their communities, to their countries and indeed to the world.”

Gap in funding

Griffiths said the Humanitarian Response Plan for Afghanistan has a gap of $3.14 billion, with $614 million urgently required to support priority winter preparedness activities, such as upgrades and repairs to shelter, and providing warm clothes and blankets. “But we are up against time. These activities must be implemented in the next three months,” he said.

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Rome/New York, August 16 – A ship chartered by the World Food Program (WFP) is bringing the first humanitarian cargo of 23,000 metric tons of Ukraine’s wheat grain to Ethiopia, a milestone achievement in the global efforts to fight high food prices since Russian troops invaded Ukraine.

The UN-chartered MV Brave Commander has left Ukraine’s Yuzhny (Pivdennyi) Port in Odesa as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The UN established a Joint Coordination Center on July 27 to begin exporting millions of tons of Ukraine’s grains and foods and Russian fertilizers which had been blocked since the war broke out on February 24 this year.

In New York, a UN spokesman said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend a meeting in Kyiv on August 18 with Turkeye’s President Recept Tayyip Erdogan at the invitation of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“The Secretary-General will then go on to Odesa, where he will visit the port that is one of the three being used as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” Stephane Dujarric said.  

“Before returning to New York over the weekend, the Secretary-General will be in Istanbul to visit the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) set up to implement the initiative. This initiative is part of a deal that also includes the facilitation of Russian grain and fertilizer exports on to the global market.”    

WFP Executive Director David Beasley said, “Getting the Black Sea Ports open is the single most important thing we can do right now to help the world’s hungry. It will take more than grain ships out of Ukraine to stop world hunger, but with Ukrainian grain back on global markets we have a chance to stop this global food crisis from spiraling even further.”

WFP said in a news release that the shipment to Ethiopia is part of its humanitarian response to the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.

It said a record 345 million people in 82 countries are now facing acute food insecurity while up to 50 million people in 45 countries are right on the edge of famine and risk being tipped over without humanitarian support.

Since the JCC began its operations in Istanbul on July 27, it has authorized a total 21 outbound and 15 inbound ships through what is known as a maritime humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea, which allows safe exports of Ukraine’s grains and Russian fertilizers.

Countries that have received those commercial shipments so far included Türkiye, South Korea, China, Ireland, Italy, Djibouti and Romania.

Read more News here

By J. Tuyet Nguyen

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Oslo/New York, August 9 – The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has won the 2022 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, which is worth $2.5 million, for its work in advocating for displaced people who are seeking a future, including support provided to 10 million people in 2021.

The Hilton Foundation (see Conrad N. Hilton Foundation) said in a news release that it has to date awarded more than $41 million to recipients of the prize. It is also the world’s largest annual humanitarian award presented to a non-profit which recognizes extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering.

The NRC now has joined the roster of 26 Prize Laureates, including CAMFED, Homeboy Industries, METAdrasi, SHOFCO, icddr,b and The Task Force for Global Health, among others.  the world’s largest annual humanitarian award presented to a non-profit which recognizes extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering.

(From the news release)

Peter Laugharn, president and CEO of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, said: “The Norwegian Refugee Council’s work is imperative right now in terms of the organization’s ability to reach people in the most difficult of circumstances, and to do so at scale. The Jury’s selection of the Norwegian Refugee Council as the recipient of the 2022 Hilton Humanitarian Prize recognizes the importance of advocating for displaced people as they build a new future.”

On the award, Jan Egeland, Secretary General of NRC, said: “We are honored to receive this prestigious humanitarian prize at a time when we are challenged like never before in reaching, aiding and protecting people forced to flee war and repression. We are witnessing one devastating crisis on top of the other, authoritarian regimes and brutal armed actors trying to block our access to those in need and donor purse strings being tightened, leaving aid budgets decimated. This makes the support and recognition from private sector donors such as the Hilton Foundation vital. The world’s displaced must not be overlooked or forgotten.”

Since its foundation in 1946, NRC has effectively and courageously protected the rights of people who are displaced by violence and find themselves in extreme vulnerability during crisis.

NRC works for civilians in armed conflict, prioritizing neglected and hard-to-reach areas where access to assistance is limited, and increasingly supports people displaced by natural disasters, the adverse effects of climate change and generalized violence. The organization listens to people in need and collaborates with local organizations and communities to deliver a response that is solutions-orientated and tailored to the context.

NRC works in more than 35 countries around the world facing both new and protracted humanitarian crises. This year alone, the organization has mobilized efforts after the earthquake in Afghanistan, during the war in Ukraine and the deepening drought in Somalia to name a few. In 2021, NRC supported 10 million people worldwide. NRC’s work is driven by the needs of displaced people.

Each year, the Hilton Foundation reviews nomination submissions from non-profits throughout the world, and an independent, international panel of distinguished jurors makes the final selection after a rigorous vetting process.

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said: “Awarding the 2022 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to the Norwegian Refugee Council is a recognition of their outstanding work with a wide range of stakeholders to ease human suffering. The United Nations values the long experience, skills and networks that the NRC brings to the table, as we work closely together to meet the needs of refugees and displaced people around the world.”

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said: “I congratulate the Norwegian Refugee Council on winning this year’s Hilton Humanitarian Prize. A long-standing and important partner of UNHCR, NRC is always on the front lines of crises, assisting refugees and other displaced people and making a critical difference to their lives. In a world where more than 100 million people are forced from their homes due to violence and persecution, I am happy to see that the tangible results of NRC’s work are recognised with this important prize.”
•    More information about NRC can be found here.
•    More information about the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation can be found here.

For inquiries, please contact:
•    Norwegian Refugee Council: 
Jessica Wanless, Global Media Adviser, jessica.wanless@nrc.no, +47 901 67 022. 
Media Hotline: media@nrc.no, +47 90562329

•    Conrad N. Hilton Foundation:
Cara Tripicchio and Marla Farrell, HiltonPrizeTeam@shelterpr.com
 

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SEE ANNOUNCEMENT: 2022 UN CORRESPONDENTS ASSOCIATION AWARDS FOR BEST JOURNALISTIC COVERAGE OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND UN AGENCIES – WINNERS WILL BE HONORED BY THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL H.E. ANTÓNIO GUTERRES – DECEMBER 2022 (DATE TBD) IN NEW YORK – ( See Announcement )

New York, December 8 – The United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) held its 25th anniversary of the UNCA Awards for best print, broadcast (TV & Radio) and online, web-based media coverage of COVID-19, climate change and the United Nations, UN agencies and field operations.

While the UNCA Awards 25th anniversary was put on hold in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year UNCA returned to hosting the annual event in December, honoring excellence in journalism around the globe.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a message to the event that the pandemic “reminded us yet again that free and independent journalism is essential to peace, justice, and human rights for all – and the greatest weapon to combat misinformation and disinformation. No society can flourish if its media landscape withers under an onslaught of repression, harassment and other pressures.”

“Today and every day, the United Nations is committed to stand with you in defense of press freedom,” he said.

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