ReliefWeb

More than 1,000 people are on the run following a brutal attack by irregular armed elements on a site in western Niger on Sunday afternoon which killed three people and wounded others.

More than 130 governments and other donors and aid officials will meet virtually to raise awareness about the rapidly deteriorating situation in Yemen – where COVID-19 is just the latest challenge.

The UNICEF chartered cargo flight also brought the second batch of 10,000 COVID-19 test kits and other supplies as part of UNICEF’s ongoing support to the Ministry of Health and Sports to help fight the pandemic.

The tropical storm has left heavy rain, floods and landslides in its path through El Salvador, causing the deaths of at least 14 people and putting thousands of families at risk throughout the territory.

Cientos de familias salvadoreñas han tenido que evacuar sus hogares debido a la devastación provocada por la Tormenta Tropical Amanda.

The new outbreak comes as a long, difficult and complex Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC is in its final phase, while the country also battles COVID-19 and the world’s largest measles outbreak.

Conflict, mass displacement, severe economic decline, food insecurity and the near collapse of public services continue to take an enormous toll on people in Yemen.

A UNICEF chartered plane landed at Sana’a airport with lifesaving supplies including Personal Protective Equipment items such as aprons, boots, face masks and gloves for frontline health workers.

With weak healthcare systems and high levels of inequality, the crisis presents an unprecedented challenge for struggling families. Children are especially vulnerable and families risk collapsing.

With the approaching cold weather, UNHCR is bracing for a deepening of the crisis. The winter season will considerably increase the need for humanitarian and medical assistance.

By 18 May, 14,938 individuals had been pre-registered. The situation in Sudan remains volatile and on 17 May, reports were received of the arrival in Chad of 1,600 people after an incident in West Darfur.

This coordinated appeal builds on the previous one on 26 March and aims to increase life-saving services and support to address immediate impacts of the pandemic and long-lasting economic repercussions.

"We cannot and must not underestimate the damage to lives and livelihoods that the convergence of these crises will have on food security and hunger in this part of the world," said FAO's Kim.

El impacto socioeconómico de la pandemia COVID-19 en la región podría empujar a 14 millones de personas a la inseguridad alimentaria severa, según el Programa Mundial de Alimentos de la ONU.

“It is vital and urgent that we provide food assistance to the growing number of vulnerable people in the region ... We still have time to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from becoming a hunger pandemic.”

The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic could increase the number of children in household poverty by 15 percent before the end of 2020, according to Save the Children and UNICEF.

Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are among the top 10 countries in the world with the worst food crises by number of people in crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) with nearly 40 million suffering.

Crowded living quarters, limited to no access to clean water, and severely curtailed healthcare all increase the risk of the coronavirus spreading, yet all are a reality for many Afghan IDPs.

The floods and the new wave of locust infestation will lead to increased food shortages in a region where over 33 million people are already severely food insecure.

This fundraising effort is an essential step to provide aid to more than five million refugees and migrants from Venezuela living in the region in the middle of the coronavirus crisis.