UN official calls to avert famine risk

Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Muraikhi, United Nations Secretary-General's Humanitarian Envoy, has called for an urgent international action by the donor countries to provide the necessary financial support to deal with the risk of famine which threatens at least 20 million people in Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and the north-east Nigeria and assess its repercussions.
Commenting on the UN Report on the Humanitarian Situation in Conflict-Affected Countries, Al Muraikhi said in statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA) that 1.5 million children are at risk of "imminent death" as a result of acute malnutrition and are waiting for an effective internationalist action to curb the disaster, noting that these four countries need about $ 4 billion in emergency funding, according to Qatar News Agency (QNA).

The UN Agencies have developed a fast mechanism to deal with these crises through Mutual Funds for each affected country, which receive donor's aid either directly or via the UN Emergency Fund that supports rapid humanitarian response, he said.

The United Nations deal with the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) across the four key themes of: food security, health, nutrition and sanitation based on priorities in the provision of support within the countries threatened with famine, he added.

The Syrian crisis is at the heart of the United Nations' concerns, especially the worsening humanitarian situation, Dr. Al Muraikhi said, pointing out that he is scheduled to tour Syria's neighborhood Countries: Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan in the coming days to get closely acquainted with the humanitarian situation of the Syrian refugees ahead of the Syria Donor's Conference due in Brussels early next month.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations visited countries exposed to famine last week and praised the contributions of the UN organizations in the assessment of the humanitarian situation in these countries through statistics supported by figures and data which show the extent of the gravity of the situation, Dr. Al Muraikhi said.

In December 2016, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Muraikhi was appointed as the UN Secretary-General's Humanitarian Envoy, to become the first Qatari occupying this post.

His appointment reflects growing international recognition of the outstanding role played by the State of Qatar in humanitarian assistance and its active participation in international efforts in the humanitarian field, through co-operation with the international organization.

Dr. Al Muraikhi is scheduled to meet with the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani in Riyadh tomorrow.

The visit aims to highlight the UN Secretary-General's Humanitarian Envoy mission along with a number of issues relating to humanitarian affairs and cooperation between the GCC countries and the United Nations organizations in various fields in stricken areas, QNA reported

Source: BNA