10 April 2017 – Despite daunting challenges, United Nations agencies and partners in war-torn Yemen have completed a major nationwide polio inoculation campaign, vaccinating nearly five million children under the age of five against the paralyzing disease.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)-UN World Health Organization (WHO)-World Bank supported campaign was launched in February and saw thousands of health workers, health educators, religious leaders and local council officials mobilize their communities to maximize the campaign’s reach, including in high-risk groups, such as internally displaced persons and refugees.

&#8220Every minute, the situation of Yemen’s children gets worse. It is unacceptable that children in the country are dying of preventable diseases,&#8221 said the UNICEF Representative in Yemen, Meritxell Relaño, in a news release today.

&#8220This is why, together with partners, we are sparing no effort to save more lives.&#8221

Through the campaign, more than 369,000 children between the ages of six months and 15 years in the violence struck Sa’ada governorate were also inoculated against measles &#8211 a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease.

&#8220WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank, are working closely with health authorities to keep Yemen polio-free and curb the spread of measles,&#8221 noted Nevio Zagaria, the WHO Representative in Yemen.

This is why, together with partners, we are sparing no effort to save more livesMeritxell Relaño, UNICEF Representative Yemen

Prior to 2006, measles was one of the leading causes of death in children under five in the country. But several vaccination campaigns have succeeded in drastically reducing child deaths from the disease.

&#8220This partnership provides continuous support to national health authorities to increase vaccination coverage for vulnerable children across Yemen,&#8221 Dr. Zagaria added.

Vaccinating children is one of the safest and most cost effective health interventions to protect them from potentially fatal and debilitating diseases. Immunization campaigns are important, not only, to keep communities polio-free but also help minimize the risk of poliovirus coming into them.

&#8220The World Bank is committed to investing in children’s health, which is a vital investment in the country’s future, through working with our UN partners in Yemen and strengthening the local health institutions&#8221 said Sandra Bloemenkamp, World Bank Country Manager for Yemen.

SEE RELATED: Half of all health facilities in war-torn Yemen now closed; medicines urgently needed – UN

The United Nations has been supporting Yemen’s health system, which has been hit hard by the ongoing conflict.

In addition to providing essential health services for children. During this campaign, UN agencies delivered fuel, generators and solar-powered refrigerators to keep vaccines at a constant cool temperature. They also helped transfer of vaccines from national and provincial cold rooms to local health facilities and vaccination teams.

9 April 2017 – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the Security Council today condemned the bombings of two Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt, which killed at least 41 people and injured more than 100 others.

Speaking through his spokesperson, the Secretary-General said that he hoped &#8220the perpetrators of this horrific terrorist act will be swiftly identified and brought to justice.&#8221

In a separate press statement, the Council called the bombings &#8220heinous and cowardly,&#8221 and reaffirmed that terrorism is one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.

The bombings were also strongly condemned by the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), which noted that the attacks took place during Palm Sunday celebrations when both churches were packed with worshippers &#8220aim at ruining the unity and diversity that characterize the Egyptian society.&#8221

Launched in 2005 through the initiative of Spain and Turkey, under the auspices of the UN, the Alliance maintains a global network of partners, including States, international and regional organizations, civil society groups, foundations, and the private sector to improve cross-cultural relations between diverse nations and communities.

Mr. Guterres, the Security Council and the UNAOC expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Egypt, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured, according to separate statements.

The 15-member Council also stressed the need to bring everyone responsible for the attacks to justice, and urged UN Member States to cooperate with the Government of Egypt and all other relevant authorities.

8 April 2017 – Following recent attacks on civilians and aid workers in South Sudan, the top United Nations humanitarian official in the country today called on the Government and the opposition to protect civilians and ensure the safety and security of humanitarians.

Noting reports this week of &#8220outrageous abuses&#8221 by both state and opposition actors in Upper Nile against aid workers, as well as reports of horrific attacks against civilians in Eastern Equatoria, Eugene Owusu, called the attacks &#8220reprehensible and unacceptable.&#8221

&#8220I call on those in power to take swift action to end the targeting of innocent people in this conflict and to hold those responsible to account,&#8221 the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan said.

In his statement, Mr. Owusu noted two &#8220serious&#8221 attacks against aid workers in Aburoc and Melut, both in the Upper Nile, since 31 March.

He condemned the attacks &#8220in the strongest terms,&#8221 and demanded authorities to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.

&#8220Humanitarians are in this country to save lives. It is beyond reckoning that they continue to be killed, harassed and abused despite our repeated calls for action,&#8221 Mr. Owusu stressed.

Also this week, in Pajok, Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria, at least 6,000 people have been forced to flee to Uganda and reportedly several dozen have been killed, following an attack by government forces on the town.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that thousands more are thought to be sheltering in the bushes in areas surrounding the town, which was estimated to be home to up to 50,000 people.

&#8220I am appalled by the reports,&#8221 said Mr. Owusu. &#8220I implore the leadership in South Sudan to rapidly investigate these allegations and to end all attacks against civilians.&#8221

The attacks come as the humanitarian situation in South Sudan is deteriorating. More than 3.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including nearly 1.9 million people who are internally displaced and more than 1.7 million who have fled as refugees to neighbouring countries.

OCHA estimates that an average of 2,000 South Sudanese refugees are arriving into Uganda each day, some 62 per cent of them children.

8 April 2017 – The United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process today called for Palestinian unity amid concerns over local pay cuts.

&#8220I am deeply concerned by the growing tensions in Gaza,&#8221 said Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

&#8220While the Palestinian Government needs to ensure its to ensure its fiscal sustainability under increasingly difficult economic conditions, it is important that reforms or decisions to reduce expenditures are fairly distributed and made with consideration to the harsh conditions under which people in Gaza live,&#8221 Mr. Mladenov noted.

He urged the responsible parties to work together to find a solution and called on all factions &#8220to allow the Palestinian Government to assume its responsibility in Gaza.&#8221

Calling Gaza &#8220an integral part of the future Palestinian state,&#8221 Mr. Mladenov said that no efforts should be spared to bring about &#8220real national reconciliation&#8221 that ends the divide.

&#8220Leaders have a responsibility to avoid escalation and bridge the growing divide between Gaza and the West Bank that further fragments the Palestinian people,&#8221 he added.

His comments come as tens of thousands of people reportedly took to the streets in Gaza today, following 30 per cent cuts to civil servants’ salaries.

7 April 2017 – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today urged restraint to avoid any escalation of the situation in the Middle Eastern country, after the United States responded militarily to an alleged chemical weapons attack earlier this week.

&#8220I continue to follow the situation in Syria closely and with grave concern,&#8221 said Mr. Guterres in a statement.

According to the US, the launch of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles into the Shayrat Airbase was a response to what it states was the Syrian Government’s use of chemical weapons from the base. The alleged 4 April chemical weapons attack killed many civilians in the Khan Shaykhun area of Idlib.

Decrying the ‘abhorrent’ chemical weapons attack, the UN chief stressed the need for accountability for such crimes in line with existing international norms and Security Council resolutions.

In the wake of the reported US airstrikes, Mr. Guterres said: &#8220Mindful of the risk of escalation, I appeal for restraint to avoid any acts that could deepen the suffering of the Syrian people.&#8221

&#8220These events underscore my belief that there is no other way to solve the conflict than through a political solution,&#8221 he said, calling on the parties to urgently renew their commitment to making progress in the Geneva [intra-Syrian talks].

Meanwhile, the Security Council convened an urgent session to hear an update on the situation in Syria.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said that the 30 December 2016 Syrian ceasefire &#8211 brokered by Russia, Iran and Turkey &#8211 had faltered in the last two months amid a steady escalation of military activity.

He said that in mid-February, Government forces escalated their military operations in several areas of Damascus and Homs, recapturing Wadi Barada and al-Waar in Homs.

In February and March, armed opposition groups, sometimes coordinating with al-Nusra Front, launched offensives in Daraa, Damascus and Hama.

On 4 April, as Government forces were fighting to regain territory recently lost to opposition offensives in northern Hama, disturbing reports emerged of an alleged chemical attack, in nearby Khan Shaykhoun in southern Idlib, Mr. Feltman said, adding that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has announced that its fact-finding mission is starting to investigate the alleged attack.

A statement from the Syrian General Command of the Army and the Armed Forces called the US response a &#8220blatant act of aggression&#8221 which had caused six deaths and huge material damage.

Mr. Feltman said that Iran and Russia condemned the US attack, with the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand expressing some support for the US strikes.

The Security Council has the primary responsibility for international peace and security, he said, urging the 15-member body to unite and exercise that responsibility to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons in Khan Shaykhun.

Security Council resolution 2254 (2015) and the 2012 Geneva Communiqué remain the foundation of, and contain the core principles for, United Nations mediation efforts and ultimately a solution in this regard, he said.