Daily Noon Briefing Highlights – 3 December 2020
Ethiopia and Sudan
In Ethiopia, the first mission has been on the ground in Afar since yesterday to assess the most immediate needs of people displaced by the conflict in Tigray and guide the UN’s urgent response.
This follows the agreement yesterday between the UN in Ethiopia and the Federal Government to facilitate aid organizations’ access to areas under the control of the Government.
The conflict in Tigray continues to push people into Sudan in search of safety.
More than 46,400 people, almost half of them children, have arrived in Sudan since the beginning of November.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and partners are increasing the capacity of the Um Rakuba camp, in Gedaref, where more than 10,000 refugees from Ethiopia are already hosted.
Yemen
More than 80 per cent of Yemenis need humanitarian assistance and protection.
Preventing famine is the top priority right now. Everyone must do everything they can to prevent famine from taking hold.
The fastest way to help prevent famine is to increase humanitarian funding.
So far this year, the UN has received only about half of the funding it received last year. The UN response plan is just 48 per cent funded, and life-saving programmes are at risk.
The UN reiterates the Secretary-General’s statement of 20 November in which he urged all those with influence to act urgently on these issues [funding for the UN-coordinated relief operation, external support for Yemen’s economy, conflict and impediments to life-saving humanitarian assistance] to stave off catastrophe.
The Secretary-General also requested that everyone avoids taking any action that could make the already dire situation even worse.
SOURCE: OCHA
