Afghanistan, Somalia, Covid-19 & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (12 August 2021)

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "Afghanistan, Somalia, Covid-19 & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (12 August 2021)"
The topics: Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Afghanistan - Mali - Niger - Democratic Republic Of The Congo - South Sudan - Sudan - Syria - Somalia - Libya - Zambia - Covid-19 - Youth Day AFGHANISTAN The Secretary-General is following, with deep concern, developments in Afghanistan, including the latest fighting in Herat and Kandahar. We are particularly concerned about the shift of fighting to urban areas, where the potential for civilian harm is even greater. We hope that the discussions this week in Doha between representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Taliban along with regional and international envoys, will restore the pathway to a negotiated settlement to the conflict. The United Nations stands ready to contribute to such a settlement and remains focused on providing assistance to the increasing number of Afghans in need. On the humanitarian front, I can tell you that many people are arriving in Kabul and other large cities, seeking safety from the conflict and other threats. With 18.4 million people already in need of humanitarian assistance, and conflict displacement of up to 390,000 people this year alone, humanitarian organizations continue to operate in Afghanistan. Inter-agency assessments are ongoing in the field, focusing on displacement, conflict, floods, gender issues and protection monitoring to determine the humanitarian needs and immediate response requirements. The humanitarian community – both the UN and non-governmental organizations – remains committed to helping people in Afghanistan, but the security environment is highly complex and clearly challenging. SOMALIA This morning, you heard from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, James Swan, who briefed Security Council members on the situation in the country. He said significant progress has been made since the signing of the Electoral Implementation Agreement between the Prime Minister and leaders of the Federal Member States on May 27th. However, Mr. Swan said that more progress is needed in the areas of electoral security due to the continuing threat posed by Al-Shabaab. And he said we are continuing to work closely with the Prime Minister and the committees on election preparations. COVID-19 A quick update for you from Cameroon and Trinidad and Tobago. In Cameroon, the UN team, led by Resident Coordinator Matthias Naab, continues to work with authorities on communication campaigns to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as advocating for more funding and doses to vaccinate the entire population. On Sunday, Cameroon received more than 150,000 vaccine doses through COVAX. These were purchased by the UN Economic Commission for Africa through the African Union’s Vaccine Acquisition Trust initiative. Cameroon has received 1 million doses so far. As of yesterday, more than 300,000 people – or 1.6 per cent of the total population – had received their first dose of the vaccine. And, in Trinidad and Tobago, the Resident Coordinator, Marina Walter, continues working with authorities, the private sector and civil society to address the impacts of the pandemic. The country received more than 30,000 doses of the vaccine yesterday, its third shipment from COVAX. The Caribbean region has reported 1.3 million cases and more than 16,000 deaths, with more than 10 million people vaccinated so far. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/ossg/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=12+August+2021


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