Today's top news: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Our colleagues on the ground have warned about a cholera outbreak in North Kivu province.

The areas of Goma, Karisimbi, Masisi and Nyiragongo are particularly affected.

Health authorities have registered 1,800 confirmed and suspected cases between 13 and 19 March compared to some 1,000 cases the previous week. In total, as of 19 March, over 6,200 cases have been registered since the beginning of the year.

The affected areas host over one million internally displaced persons and living conditions are precarious in many displacement sites. We are concerned that people’s limited access to water and inadequate hygiene conditions facilitates the spread of cholera.

We and our partners continue to support cholera treatment centers. However, resources are limited and the situation may deteriorate further without additional funding to scale up the response.

Syria

Since last month’s earthquakes, more than 1,070 trucks have crossed into the northwest of the country from southern Türkiye, carrying aid provided by seven UN agencies.

UN staff have completed 37 cross-border missions to the northwest since the first inter-agency visit to Idleb on February 14th.

In Government areas, we and our humanitarian partners continue to help remove debris. We also provide technical support to committees assessing the damage in the governorates of Idlib, Aleppo and Latakia.

So far, the UN and our partners have carried out safety assessments of nearly 3,700 schools and set up eight temporary learning spaces in shelters and community centers.

And we and our partners have provided 185,000 ready-to-eat meals and 785,000 hot meals to people affected by the earthquakes.