This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

UN migration agency appeals for $514 million to support Ukraine response

Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis is continuing to worsen and to help communities affected by the war there, the UN migration agency, IOM, has appealed for more than $500 million.

Since the Russian invasion on 24 February, over 7.7 million people have been internally displaced inside Ukraine, IOM said on Friday.

It added that over five million refugees and 233,000 third country nationals have also sought safety in neighbouring countries, and that it aims to reach over 10 million people, if sufficient funding is forthcoming.

Vulnerable women, children, elderly people and those with disabilities will receive assistance, the UN agency said in a statement, adding that a key objective was to boost capacity in shelters, reception centers and transit sites, in a safe and dignified manner.

Investigations continue into cause of liver failure outbreak in kids

The cause of a deadly outbreak of severe liver failure in children continues to puzzle medical professionals who are nonetheless making progress in getting to the bottom of the mystery, the UN health agency said on Friday.

To date, there have been more than 170 cases of acute severe hepatitis in 16 countries – with most in the UK; one child has died.

Dr Philippa Easterbrook from the World Health Organization (WHO) said that “all the usual explanations” for hepatitis did not apply to any of the children, many of whom have had to have liver transplants after falling sick.
One of the most promising hypotheses was that a common adenovirus was the likely cause – although this remains unproven, Dr Easterbrook said:

“This is a severe, acute hepatitis with yet unexplained causation. I think what makes this distinct is that this is in previously healthy children; you sometimes see a severe hepatitis particularly in those children with compromised immune systems, but this has generally been in previously healthy children.”

The WHO official stressed that the COVID vaccine wasn’t to blame for the illness, as the vast majority of affected children hadn’t had the jab.

Mali Press shutdowns reflect growing regional intolerance: OHCHR

Mali’s ban on two major international broadcasters operating inside the country is a worrying development in itself, but it reflects growing regional intolerance towards freedom of expression, the UN rights office, OHCHR, has warned.

OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani highlighted the “pervasive chilling effect on journalists and bloggers” of Press restrictions in the west African nation, and said that the move against Radio France International (RFI) and France24, was just “the latest in a string of actions” by the military authorities:

“We are deeply dismayed by the Malian media regulator’s decision to definitively suspend Radio France International (RFI) and France24. We call on Mali’s transitional military authorities to reverse this ban and allow independent media to work freely in the country.”

Mali has seen two armed ousters in the last two years, the first in August 2020, the second in May last year.

Before they were taken off air, both broadcasters were accused of publishing “false allegations” about reports of human rights violations by the Malian army.

“More, not less scrutiny, is needed” of the actions of the authorities, Ms. Shamdasani told journalists in Geneva on Friday, her comments coming after some 500 people were allegedly summarily executed in Moura, a village in central Mali, earlier this month.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.