Press Conferences
Afghanistan, South Sudan, Ethiopia & other topics - Daily Press Briefing
Let me start off with two senior personnel appointments for today. First, the Secretary-General has appointed Sima Sami Bahous of Jordan as the new Executive Director of UN-Women. And a second announcement, the Secretary-General is appointing Ms. Sawako Shirahase of Japan as Senior Vice-Rector of the United Nations University.
Turning to Afghanistan, as you know earlier today the Secretary-General spoke at the opening session of the High-Level Event on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan. He stressed that the people of Afghanistan need a lifeline, and that now is the time for the international community to stand with them.
The World Food Programme said that the first UN Humanitarian Air Service flight to Kabul since the Taliban took over the capital took off yesterday. The plan is for the UN Humanitarian Air Service to have flights 5 days a week - from Sunday to Thursday - from Islamabad into Afghanistan.
Turning to the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, she has concluded a three-day visit to Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia.
Our Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, wrapped up a four-day visit to South Sudan yesterday to encourage the implementation of the peace agreement.
Moving to Ethiopia. The World Health Organization Logistics Hub in Dubai has now delivered 85 metric tons of life-saving medical supplies to Ethiopia. This was the largest single shipment of humanitarian cargo to date airlifted by our WHO colleagues and the Hub.
Quick COVAX update for you. Peru has received over 360,000 doses of vaccines, AstraZeneca, through the COVAX mechanism.
Tomorrow, we will have another guest to talk to you about the UN’s work in Afghanistan and that will be Rein Paulsen, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Director of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience. He will brief you on work that FAO is doing with farmers in Afghanistan.
For further details please see SOURCE below.
Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General