The lives and livelihoods of more than 60 millions people around the world have been turned upside down by the extreme weather events linked to the El Niño phenomenon, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said, calling for a scaled-up, unprecedented response that goes beyond humanitarian action.
Failure to prepare for and adapt to the 'new normal' of increasing climate-linked emergencies such as El Niño could put global development targets at risk and deepen widespread human suffering in areas already hard hit by floods and droughts, top United Nations officials said in Rome today.
Despite commitments of the international community, inconsistent levels of political will, resourcing, accountability and gender expertise often hinder the full and meaningful inclusion of women in efforts to prevent conflict, the Security Council said today.
Climate change is expected to increase the intensity and frequency of droughts in the Caribbean, so countries in the region must enhance their capabilities to deal with this and other extreme weather-related challenges to ensure food security and hunger eradication, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said in a new report.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the membership of his Global Health Crises Task Force, which aims to help countries and communities prepare and respond to emergencies, such as the recent outbreaks of Ebola and Zika.
With the El Niño climate event devastating Central America’s so-called Dry Corridor, where one of the worst droughts in decades has left 3.5 million people food insecure, United Nations agencies will gather this week to discuss ways to improve the long-term response to the weather developments in the region.
“We are all here because global humanitarian action is unprecedentedly strained,” the UN Secretary-General said at the World Humanitarian Summit opening ceremony.
"There is huge need for us to show solidarity with those who are affected by natural disasters and man-made disasters,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said.
The international community must boost efforts to build the capacity for disaster risk management to prevent El Niño weather extremes from causing humanitarian crises, the ECOSOC president said.
The El Niño phenomenon––with its increasing intensity––has lasting consequences for development.
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