UNITED STATES: US leadership, support vital to host of global issues, UN chief stresses at White House

4 August 2015 – The United Nations counts on the leadership and support of the United States on a range of critical issues, from climate change and sustainable development to resolving crises such as those in Syria and Yemen, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, following a meeting at the White House with President Barack Obama.
Mr. Ban called the meeting between the two leaders “extremely constructive,” while noting it comes ahead of what is expected to be a “historic” General Assembly in September and follows a series of recent “diplomatic achievements” by Mr. Obama and the US Government such as the Iranian nuclear deal and the normalization of diplomatic relations with Cuba.
“All these are truly historic diplomatic achievements,” the Secretary-General said in remarks to the press following his meeting.
“The United Nations continues to stand working with you and the US Government. We really appreciate your strong leadership and support, and strong, generous humanitarian assistance to many places of conflict.”
On climate change, Mr. Ban highly commended Mr. Obama’s strong commitment “since day one in his office up to now,” and said he would continue to count on his leadership until countries are able to reach an international agreement on climate change in December in Paris.
In that regard, he congratulated the President on his “visionary and forward leadership” on the Clean Power Plan that he announced this week which aims to reduce carbon pollution from power plants and emphasizes the use of renewable energy sources.

“I think this Clean Power Plan powers economies and generates jobs,” said Mr. Ban, adding that it can also generate huge dividends in the US economy as well as impact other countries. The two men also discussed how to mobilize $100 billion for climate financing.
Turning to regional issues, Mr. Ban said that he and the President “are completely on the same page” and briefly touched on the discussions on Syria and Yemen, reiterating with regard to the latter that there is no military solution and dialogue must be the way forward.
Among other things, the Secretary-General also commended Mr. Obama’s leadership on South Sudan, saying that the President’s recent visit to Africa and convening a leaders meeting on South Sudan “really made a big impact.”

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 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51560#.VcIp4bXeums

MYANMAR: Cyclone Komen further burdens thousands of displaced people in western Myanmar – UN agencies

4 August 2015 – Sweeping across western Myanmar last week, Cyclone Komen has caused extensive damage in the region, hampering assessment and relief efforts, including to areas where thousands of displaced people are living, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.
“But our teams, as well as other UN and non-governmental organizations, have so far managed to reach camps for internally displaced people in Rakhine’s provincial capital Sittwe, as well as in nearby townships such as Pauktaw and Myebon,” Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva.
“In 24 camps assessed so far, a quarter of the temporary shelters are damaged, and more than 21,000 displaced people affected as a result. Several years on from their construction, many of these shelters had become fragile and unable to withstand severe weather,” he explained.
UNHCR and its partners are still assessing the impact on the existing displaced populations in Rakhine and Kachin states, with a view to identifying immediate needs and distributing relief. Rakhine state has been declared one of four 'natural disaster zones' by the Myanmar Government, alongside Chin state and Sagaing and Magway regions.
Assessment teams also have been deployed to the camps for the internally displaced in Minbya, Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw, which are only accessible by boat, after humanitarian workers had to clear debris from waterways.
UNHCR will distribute relief aid once the assessments are completed, Mr. Edwards said. It has already distributed aid such as tarpaulins, blankets, mats and buckets to those hosted in official reception centres, as well as others who have been affected.
He also noted that parts of Buthidaung township remain underwater. UN and non-governmental organization (NGO) staff have reached 68 villages so far and found over 18,000 people displaced by the floods. “As assessments continue, we are distributing tarpaulins and mats to those affected,” said Mr. Edwards.
UNHCR’s assistance to people affected by the cyclone and floods is part of a wider inter-agency response to support the Myanmar Government's relief efforts. UNHCR continues to work with the authorities to find longer-term solutions to situations of internal displacement.
The Myanmar Government reported yesterday that 39 people had lost their lives over the past week and over 200,000 people had been affected by heavy monsoon rains and flooding across the country.
Those figures were likely to rise in the coming days as more areas became accessible, according to Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), who also briefed reporters in Geneva.
The Myanmar authorities, he announced, had today formally requested international assistance, although the UN and international humanitarian organizations had been working closely with the Myanmar authorities and supporting the humanitarian response since the beginning of the flooding on 30 July.
 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51559#.VcImkrXeums

IRAQ: Millions left in need after funding shortage forces UN health agency to cut services

“The closure of more than 184 health services resulted in millions of refugees, internally displaced people and host communities having no access to critical care, including trauma care, nutritional case, primary healthcare, outbreak detection and management, immunization services and reproductive health care services.”
WHO is trying to find money from other regional funds and carrying out advocacy with donors, Mr. Tarik Jasarevic said. So far, contributions have been received from a number of countries, as well as from the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
Mr. Jasarevic warned that 5.8 million children need to continue to be vaccinated against polio in 2015 and 2016. There had been two cases of polio in Iraq in 2014. While no case has been declared since April, “the immunization campaign has to continue for the next two years to be effective,” he insisted. The polio vaccination campaign has a funding gap of $45 million.Overall, UN agencies and their partners are seeking $498 million to cover the costs of providing shelter, food, water and other life-saving services for the remainder of the year to those in need in Iraq. As of the end of July, only 15 per cent of this had been secured.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51561#.VcImmrXeums
4 August 2015 – The United Nations health agency was forced to suspend 84 per cent of frontline programmes in 10 governorates in Iraq in July due to insufficient funding, leaving almost three million people without access to urgently-needed healthcare services.
“Despite warnings about the imminent closure of health services and the revision of 2015 plans to focus on the most basic priority health needs, funding is very scarce,” Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), said today at a press conference in Geneva.
Only $5.1 million out of the $60.9 million required by the health cluster has been received so far, he noted.