The SG: In a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping today, the SG thanked China for continuing to support UN work related to peace, security, sustainable development and human rights. The SG also spoke at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies and will attend the “Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia” in Shanghai on Tuesday.
Iraq: In addition to welcoming preliminary results from the Council of Representatives elections, the SG expressed concern for the situation in the Anbar province and condemned the intentional flooding of Abu Ghraib.
Mali: The DSG shared concern for the growing violence after recent attacks in Mali over the weekend and expressed the importance of de-escalating the conflict in a phone conversation with Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita this morning.
South Sudan: After an outbreak in Juba last week, cholera cases are rapidly increasing with new cases reported in Jonglei and Upper Nile. UNICEF reports three confirmed deaths so far and notes cases of the highly contagious disease are doubling every day.UNICEF is providing supplies and has helped set-up a Cholera Treatment Center at the Juba Teaching Hospital, but says $10 million is still needed to carry out their prevention work.
Balkans: Thousands have been evacuated and 36 are dead as a result of the floods in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.Governments in all three countries are leading relief efforts and UN agencies and partners have offered their assistance. OCHA is sending a disaster coordination and assessment team to Serbia and WFP is sending emergency relief items while OCHA, WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF and UNDP are working with local authorities to assess needs and coordinate relief efforts.
Lebanon: Lebanon needs support from the international community to handle more than 1 million Syrian refugees according to Ross Mountain, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon. Currently, only 17 percent of the $1.7 billion humanitarian appeal has been met.
Nigeria: Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, was in Nigeria today meeting with the UN country team and civil society members to show support for the families of the abducted schoolgirls. Also today, Executive Director of UNFPA, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, announced UNFPA and partners would offer psychosocial therapy for the families and the girls upon their release.
World Food Programme: WFP nominated the manager of the Chelsea Football Club, Jose Mourinho, to be their Ambassador against Hunger.
WHO Assembly: The World Health Assembly begins today in Geneva. WHO Executive Director Margaret Chan expressed the importance of health in a post-2015 agenda and named wild poliovirus, the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, and NCDs as examples of current health challenges impacting the world.