World News in Brief: Gaza medical challenge, justice for Africa, rising violence in Myanmar

The situation is especially dire in North Gaza governorate, which has been under siege for more than two months, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during his daily briefing from New York.

Access to basic services has also been severely constrained, he added, noting that the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, continues to be a lifeline for the population.

UN still reaches millions

UNRWA accounts for more than half of the people reached with health services since the conflict began in October 2023, providing some 6.7 million medical consultations across Gaza as of this month.

More than 90 mobile teams currently are providing health services at 54 medical points inside and outside shelters in the Middle Area, Khan Younis, Al Mawasi and Gaza governorate.

“Meanwhile, seven of UNRWA’s 27 health centres in Gaza remain operational,” Mr. Dujarric told journalists. 

“But, as you know, the number of health facilities that are still up and running at any given time changes constantly due to insecurity and access restrictions.”

Medicine stocks running out

UNRWA has warned that stocks of medicines in its health facilities are low, and at least 60 items will run out within a month.

In Gaza, critical shortages of medicines and medical supplies persist due to access impediments and the limited number of safe and viable routes to bring supplies into the enclave.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres address parliamentarians in Lesotho.

Guterres calls for justice for Africa in speech to Lesotho parliament

The UN Secretary-General called for Africa to have a stronger role in global affairs in an address on Thursday to the parliament in Lesotho.

António Guterres was on his first visit to the southern African country as it celebrates the bicentenary of the Basotho nation, which became the Kingdom of Lesotho following independence from Britain in 1966.

He said deep injustices stemming from colonialism are denying Africa’s rightful place on the world stage.

He cited the UN Security Council as an example, noting that nearly 80 years after it was established, the continent still awaits even a single permanent seat. 

“This hurts Africa, but it also hurts the Council – its effectiveness, its legitimacy, and its credibility,” he said.

The Secretary-General stated that crises such as the conflicts raging from Sudan to the Sahel, demand not just global attention but African leadership.

“Yet Africa has no permanent voice when the world decides on matters of war and peace…in Africa, through the Security Council,” he remarked, adding “that is unacceptable – and it must change.”

He called for correcting injustices on other fronts, including related to debt relief and funding for climate action.

A child who lost his left leg after accidentally stepping on a landmine in his family’s paddy fields in central Myanmar.

Myanmar parties urged to end fighting as violence escalates

The Secretary-General is also deeply concerned about reports of escalation of violence in Myanmar which has caused further civilian suffering and displacement, his Spokesperson said on Thursday in New York.

Indiscriminate aerial attacks causing civilian casualties continue to be reported in many parts of the country, which has been under military rule since February 2021.

Mr. Guterres reiterated his calls on all parties to the conflict to end violence and reminded them of the obligation to protect civilians, as required under international law.

He also urged all sides to prevent further incitement of intercommunal tensions.

World’s top opium producer

Meanwhile, Myanmar remains a leading source of opium and heroin, even though opium production has slowed, according to the latest survey by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The report analyses data collected during the third growing season since the military seized power in a coup.

It shows a moderate decrease of four per cent – from 47,100 hectares to 45,200 – and a similar decrease in yield per hectare, pointing to an initial stabilization of cultivation at the current high levels, thus cementing Myanmar’s status as the world’s leading source of opium.

However, the uneven distribution of the decrease across the country – as well as uncertainties regarding the impact of the continued drug ban in Afghanistan on global demand for opium and heroin – suggest that Myanmar’s opium economy is at a crossroads.

UNODC Regional Representative Masood Karimipour said that “as conflict dynamics in the country remain intense and the global supply chains adjust to the ban in Afghanistan, we see significant risk of a further expansion over the coming years.”