Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that according to the UN migration agency, IOM, more than 4,300 people have fled their homes in Port-au-Prince and neighboring towns.

“Despite the uncertainty and access restrictions, we are responding with our partners to the growing needs resulting from the continued and escalating violence,” continued Mr. Dujarric.

Cash injection

Over the past two days, the children’s agency UNICEF has given cash to nearly 1,500 people living in displacement sites in the gang-ravaged capital. The United Nations Agency for Reproductive Health, UNFPA and IOM have deployed mobile health clinics and are also providing clean water to the needy.

As of Thursday, the World Food Program (WFP) is providing aid to more than 50,000 internally displaced men, women and children in the capital, with the aim of reaching more than 135,000 displaced people with hot meals by the end of November.

Across Haiti, WFP has also provided cash to nearly 100,000 people and provides daily meals to 430,000 children in 2,000 schools across the country.

The United Nations Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti requires $674 million and is 45 percent funded with $289 million in cash.

Global measles crisis: Cases increase by 20 percent in 2023

An increase in the number of measles cases has reached 10.3 million worldwide by 2023, a 20 percent increase over the previous year, according to new estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The rise in cases has sparked outbreaks in 57 countries, with nearly half occurring in Africa. Despite being preventable through vaccination, more than 22 million children missed their first measles shot last year, resulting in 107,500 deaths, primarily among children under five.

“Measles vaccine has saved more lives than any other vaccine in the last 50 years,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “To save even more lives, we must invest in immunization for every person, regardless of where they live”.

Worrying decline in the vaccination rate

Global vaccination rates remain below the critical 95 percent threshold needed to prevent outbreaks, with only 83 percent of children receiving their first dose and 74 percent receiving the crucial second dose.

CDC Director Mandy Cohen emphasized that “measles infections are increasing around the globe, putting lives and health at risk”.

While the Americas region maintained its measles-free status – with Brazil reconfirmed as having eliminated the disease – other areas, including the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions, have seen a significant increase in the number of cases.

The WHO notes that survivors often face serious complications, including blindness, pneumonia and potential brain damage.

Torture is never justified, the UN rights chief insists, as the key agreement turns 40 years old

It has been 40 years since countries adopted the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, but the fundamental principle that nothing ever justifies torture is under threat.

This is the message from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, who on Thursday expressed alarm that the world has become “more violent and more polarized”.

‘Chaos machine’ of conflict

“Over 120 conflicts are raging globally, and each one is a machine of chaos,” said Mr. Türk to the committee that met in Geneva.

“Hate speech and discrimination are more and more widespread, and entire communities are being condemned and scapegoated,” he said, before highlighting a “backlash” against long-held values ​​and the protection of human rights.

“Torture, the deliberate infliction of physical pain and psychological terror and trauma on defenseless adults and children, is a vile, abhorrent act that has absolutely no place in our world,” he said.

“It is never justified; it is always abominable; and we have a clear legal and moral duty to prevent it.”

Four decades since the adoption of the Convention Against Torture, it has been ratified by 174 out of 193 UN member states.

Despite this high level of support for the international treaty, Mr. Türk to all countries “to recommit to their obligations” to prevent torture.