Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Food Prices & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (2 Sept 2021)

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Food Prices & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (2 Sept 2021)"
The topics: Noon briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Afghanistan - Democratic Republic of the Congo - Ethiopia - Mali - COVID/Africa - Philippines - Food Prices - Clean Air - Financial Contribution Afghanistan In Afghanistan, the UN Humanitarian Air Service, operated by the World Food Programme, is resuming flights to enable 160 humanitarian organizations to continue their life-saving activities in Afghanistan’s provinces. The air passenger service is currently linking Islamabad to Mazar-i-Sharif and Kandahar, with three flights already having taken place to Mazar-i-Sharif since 29 August. WFP says all efforts are being made to step up operations as soon as possible and increase the number of flown-to destinations in Afghanistan. In addition, a cargo airbridge is being established to transport non-food items, such as medical and other emergency supplies to where they are needed the most. UNHAS’ domestic passenger service requires $18 million and $12 million is required for the cargo airbridge. Both services will be utilized by the entire humanitarian community. From 2002 to 2021, the UN Humanitarian Air Service in Afghanistan served more than 20 destinations in the country; it will seek to return to these locations once security and funding permits. Ethiopia In a statement issued today, the Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for Ethiopia, Grant Leaity, warned that with the inability to bring in sufficient and sustained levels of humanitarian supplies, cash and fuel, the humanitarian situation in the North of the country is set to worsen dramatically, particularly in Tigray. Mr. Leaity noted that an estimated 5.2 million people, or 90 per cent of the population across the Tigray region, urgently need humanitarian assistance. He said that millions are on the brink of going hungry, including 1.7 million people in the bordering areas of the Afar and Amhara regions. Mr. Leaity pointed out that while humanitarian access is now viable and secure inside most of Tigray, the region remains under a de facto humanitarian aid blockade, where access to bring life-saving humanitarian relief continues to be extremely restricted. Stocks of relief items, cash and fuel are running very low or are completely depleted in certain locations. Food stocks already ran out on 20 August. The Acting Humanitarian Coordinator stressed that the lives of millions of civilians in Tigray and neighboring regions in Afar and Amhara depend on our capacity to reach them with food, nutrition supplies, medicine and other critical medical supplies. Food Prices Our colleagues at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, said that global food commodity prices rebounded rapidly in August after two consecutive months of decline. This was led by strong gains in the international price quotations for sugar, wheat and vegetable oils. The FAO Food Price Index was up 3.1 per cent from July and 32.9 per cent from the same month last year. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=02%20September%202021


Click here for more information, to subscribe to the channel of United Nations or to watch the video on YouTube.