Americas

The World Investment Report 2022 was released today by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).  It shows that flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2021.  But, the report warns that the prospects for 2022 are grimmer.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the opening ceremony of the fifth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development, in Costa Rica today:

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ virtual remarks to the opening session of the fourth Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-Central American Integration System (SICA) Summit, in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize, today:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is substantially scaling up its assistance in Myanmar, where ongoing security challenges, humanitarian access restrictions and COVID-19 cases are impacting the population.  It is targeting at least 4 million people across the country, where 1 in 4 is facing food insecurity.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the situation in the northern part of Ethiopia is rapidly deteriorating, amid fighting in and around Dessie and Kombolcha in the Amhara region, which led to large-scale displacement and increasing humanitarian needs.  The two towns were already hosting a large number of displaced people from nearby areas.

In Sudan, the United Nations is working with partners to provide life‑saving aid to 9 million vulnerable people.  Operations must continue unimpeded to prevent the humanitarian situation there from deteriorating further. However, the 2021 response plan, which seeks $1.9 billion, remains only 30 per cent funded.

In Nigeria, the World Food Programme today warned that it might cut food aid as early as next month to more than 500,000 people in the north‑east unless it receives at least $55 million in urgent funding.  The cuts come as severe hunger reaches a five-year high due to years of conflict and worsened by COVID-19.

In northern Syria, a reported 5 million people lack reliable access to and suffer from insufficient levels of safe water due to low water levels and disruptions to water systems.  The United Nations and aid partners have released a plan to target 3.4 million of those most affected by the water crisis in the next six months.

At the opening of the United Nations Food Systems Summit, the Secretary‑General stressed that food systems can and must play a leading role in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals and called for a world where healthy and nutritious food is available and affordable for everyone, everywhere.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the High‑Level Dialogue of the Americas on Climate Action, held today: