Afghanistan; Nigeria; Syria

Afghanistan: Final results of the April 5 presidential elections showed no outright winner in the first round and will now go on to a second round run-off. UNAMA reported an improvement in the voting and election process compared to previous elections and Ján Kubiš, the SG’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, reminded all parties to continue to respect this process.

Nigeria: The SG’s High-Level Representative to Nigeria, Said Djinnit, wrapped up his four day trip to Nigeria today where he met with President Jonathan and other government officials about the abduction of the schoolgirls. The UN is preparing an Integrated Support Package that will aim to immediately support the affected families and girls after their release.

Syria: Following his first trip to Syria as UNRWA’s Commissioner General, Pierre Krähenbüh reported many Palestinian refugees facing hardships resulting from the armed conflict there. He called for more humanitarian access.

Yemen: Johannes Van Der Klaauw, Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, expressed concern for Yemen’s under-funded 2014 response plan. To date, only 18 percent of the funding for 2014 has been secured and more than half the Yemen population will need some form of humanitarian aid this year. Of those, 10.5 million are food insecure, 13 million have no access to WASH and 8.6 million are in need of health services.

WHO: A recent WHO report notes people are living longer throughout the world. According to Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, fewer children dying before their fifth birthday is the leading reason global life expectancy is improving. However, she noted there is still a notable rich-poor divide in life expectancy.