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News in Brief 25 April 2023

News in Brief 25 April 2023

This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

 

Sudan: UN working to deliver amid dire humanitarian situation, attacks on aid

The United Nations will continue to deliver desperately needed relief for the Sudanese people, amid soaring needs, acute shortages of essentials and fast-rising prices, the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) said on Tuesday.

Ten days of intense fighting between rival military factions have had a devastating humanitarian impact. OCHA warned that people are lacking food, water, medicines and fuel, power is limited, and prices of essential items as well as transportation, have skyrocketed.

With more, here’s OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke:

“The people of Sudan – already deeply affected by humanitarian needs – are staring into the abyss. Humanitarian operations are also affected. Yesterday, we heard more reports of looting of humanitarian supplies and warehouses. […] We and our partners continue to deliver whenever and wherever feasible. And I want to emphasize also the heroic efforts of the Sudanese people themselves. Civil society networks are responding to the most urgent needs in their communities.”

OCHA also said that a UN leadership team will remain in Sudan to oversee humanitarian operations from a hub in Port Sudan.

Before the fighting erupted, some 15.8 million people – about a third of the Sudanese population – were already in need of aid.

 

Ukraine: Calls to execute prisoners of war could amount to war crimes

Both Russian and Ukrainian authorities should urgently investigate and condemn apparent orders to execute prisoners of war (POWs), the UN rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.

The development comes after audio recordings emerged on 23 April on several Telegram channels “in which people with apparent connections on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine appear to order the summary execution of prisoners of war or declare that there shall be no survivors on the battlefield”, OHCHR said. 

One recording is alleged to be of a member of the Ukrainian armed forces and another, from the head of the Wagner Group, whose mercenaries are fighting alongside the Russian military.

The UN rights office warned that if the recordings are verified, “the order to summarily execute” some of those captured, including prisoners of war, “followed by their killing, or an attempt to do so, amounts to a war crime, as does the declaration that no quarter will be given”.

 

World Malaria Day: better prevention could save tens of thousands of children each year

Access to vaccines and other malaria prevention measures could save the lives of tens of thousands of children each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, World Malaria Day.

The UN health agency stressed the urgent need to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria particularly among marginalized populations, and called for stepping up new and existing interventions.

The agency also announced that to date, nearly 1.5 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have received their first dose of the RTS,S malaria vaccine, which is the first recommended for use to prevent the disease in children.

WHO’s most recent figures point to nearly 250 million new cases of malaria in 2021 – some 95 per cent of them in Africa. Nearly 80 per cent of all malaria deaths in Africa were among children under five.

Dominika Tomaszewska-Mortimer, UN News.

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  • Sudan: UN working to deliver amid dire humanitarian situation
  • Ukraine: calls to execute POWs could amount to war crimes: OHCHR
  • World Malaria Day: better prevention could save tens of thousands of children each year: WHO
Audio Credit
Dominika Tomaszewska-Mortimer, UN News - Geneva
Audio
2'42"
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Mohammed Shamseddin