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Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that, as of today, the Government of Indonesia reports that 1,581 people have died following the earthquake and tsunami in central Sulawesi. More than 2,500 others have been severely injured while more than 100 people are still missing.
Some 66,000 houses have been damaged and nearly 71,000 people have been uprooted from their homes.
Hospitals and clinics are reportedly overwhelmed and are experiencing shortages of medical supplies and staff.
OCHA says that immediate needs include medical and health services, food clean water, shelter and psychosocial support.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that it is working with the Nigerian Government to support the health response in states affected by large-scale flooding since August.
WHO has deployed experts to strengthen surveillance and early warning response in the camps hosting displaced populations and is also assisting the Government to avail essential drugs and commodities to those affected by the flooding.
Yesterday, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, spoke at UN Security Council consultations on the Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu Province.
The briefing came ahead of a visit by the Security Council to the DRC from 5-8 October.
He stressed that the response to the outbreak faced significant challenges, including the security situation in the Beni area of North Kivu, where recent attacks led to a break in operations for several days.
In Madagascar, OCHA says 31 cases of plague, including six confirmed cases and six deaths, have been reported as of 30 September.
Of the six confirmed cases, three were pneumonic plague and three bubonic. The plague is endemic on the Plateux of Madagascar and usually affects the country between September and April.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued their monthly Food Price Index today, which showed that global agricultural food commodity prices fell in September due to growing inventories of key staple goods.
The FAO Food Price Index declined 1.4 per cent from August and is now 7.4 per cent below its level during September 2017.
World Space Week kicks off today. This year’s theme is “Space Unites the World” and it focuses on international cooperation in space. There will be events around the world throughout the week, including the release of mini space documentaries in IMAX theatres and talks by Airbus employees in schools across Europe.
