Monday’s Daily Brief: Young foreigners stranded in Syria, India toxic smog crisis, Ebola worker death shows frontline risks, microplastics, Horn of Africa updates

 

© UNICEF/Masoud Hasan

Two young children wait to collect water trucked in by UNICEF from other areas of the Middle East to Tal Tamer, Syria. (16 October 2019)

4 November 2019

Peace and Security

A recap of stories this Monday: UNICEF urges repatriation of children stranded in Syria; Public health emergency in India’s New Delhi; Ebola health worker death in DR Congo shows deadly risks; Guinea Bissau crisis, Security Council update; UNEP campaign targets ocean microplastics.

UNICEF urges governments to repatriate children stranded in Syria

The head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is appealing for countries to repatriate scores of foreign children who are stranded in northeast Syria in the wake of the Turkish-launched offensive which began last month.
The agency estimates nearly 28,000 children from more than 60 countries remain trapped in the region, mostly in displacement camps. This includes almost 20,000 from Iraq.
Read our story here.

India’s New Delhi choking on record levels of smog

Unbearable levels of air pollution in India’s capital of New Delhi, declared a public health emergency by the local government as of Monday, have made “the invisible killer, visible”, a UN senior pollution expert has said. 
According to media reports, residents of the capital city are set to suffer record-levels of smog for at least a week, even with emergency measures in place to tackle the problem, with some flights delayed and diverted due to thick smog.
Valentin Foltescu, Senior Programme Management Officer for the UN Environment Programme in India, UNEP, told UN News that current levels of fine particulate matter, containing unsafe chemicals harmful to human health, are 40 times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended level.
The major contributor is poor farming practices, Mr. Foltsecu explained, with states adjacent to the capital region practicing widespread stubble burning in open fields. In addition, waste mismanagement and heavy traffic are also raising toxicity levels.

WHO has outlined the detrimental impact of particulate matter pollution, or PM2.5 on humans; stunting children’s brains, and triggering heart disease, stroke, pulmonary disease and lung cancers, with an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths globally linked to ambient air pollution.
UNEP is working with various sectors in a bid to help reduce the toxic smog in New Delhi and beyond, including Government-led agricultural initiatives, and projects on the ground to eliminate harmful open burning practices.

Ebola emergency chief decries new attacks on frontline staff, after DR Congo worker death

Security measures for staff helping to fight health emergencies need to be stepped up urgently, a UN health agency top official said on Monday, after a frontline Ebola epidemic community worker was reportedly stabbed to death at his home in northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Speaking at a public event in Geneva, Dr Mike Ryan from the World Health Organization (WHO), said that in his 25-year humanitarian career, violence carried out deliberately against health workers and hospitals had never been so bad.
Our full coverage is here.

Council deeply concerned over political developments unfolding in Guinea-Bissau

The UN Security Council on Monday expressed deep concern over Guinea Bissau’s political crisis, following President José Mário Vaz’s decision last week to dissolve the government, including sacking the Prime Minister and appointing new leadership.
In a Statement, the Council called on all actors to fully respect the response from the regional body of West African States, ECOWAS, which deemed the President’s actions “illegal”, and urged top politicians to reach agreement over a way forward.
The President’s dismissal and replacement of Prime Minister Aristide Gomes intensified a bitter power struggle between the President and the ruling party just weeks before fresh Presidential elections, set for 24 November. One demonstrator has died, and several have been injured during related political protests.
President Vaz’s term in office expired this June, but under terms agreed with ECOWAS, he will stay in office until this month’s poll, in the hope of being re-elected.
The Council reiterated its strong support and commitment to the country’s peace process and underscored the urgent need to hold the already-delayed presidential election as agreed and allow for a peaceful transition of power.

Microplastics, microbeads and single-use plastics poisoning sea life and affecting humans

Each year, an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean – equivalent to a full garbage truck dumped into the sea every minute - the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Monday.
Between 60 to 90 per cent of the litter that accumulates on shorelines, the surface and the sea floor is made up of plastic.
The most common items are cigarette butts, bags, and food and beverage containers. Consequently, marine litter harms over 800 marine species, 15 of which are endangered. And plastic consumed by marine species enters the human food chain through fish consumption.  More here.

Unity, regional cooperation and international support needed for Horn of Africa to develop sustainably

The road ahead “will not be easy” for the Horn of Africa, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Monday, briefing the Security Council on her Joint Solidarity Mission with the African Union (AU) at the end of October.
“The foundations have been laid for a transition from peace to sustainable development”, she said, but building on these “will require unity and cooperation across the region and common ground internationally”.
Here’s our story.

Listen to or download our audio News in Brief for 4 November on SoundCloud:  

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