Wrapping up a visit to the country, Edem Wosornu, who heads operations and advocacy for the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said that she could “feel the momentum for change” on the ground after years of suffering and hardship under the Assad regime ended with its overthrow last December. But formidable challenges remain as […]
Over the past five years, the refugee population in Kenya has surged by more than 70 per cent – from approximately 500,000 to 843,000 – driven largely by conflict and drought in neighbouring Sudan and Somalia. Of these, around 720,000 people are sheltering in the Dadaab and Kakuma camps, as well as the Kalobeyei settlement. […]
It’s believed that hundreds of thousands of trafficked individuals of various nationalities are forced to carry out fraud in the centres located across Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and Malaysia. “The situation has reached the level of a humanitarian and human rights crisis,” said right experts Tomoya Obokata, Siobhán Mullally and Vitit Muntarbhorn. They stressed […]
The UN’s reproductive health agency, UNFPA, has been working to assess the impact of recent steep funding cuts, warning that from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Haiti, Sudan and beyond, a lack of funding for reproductive care or treatment to tackle gender-based violence, is causing untold suffering. Millions of them are already experiencing the […]
With a growing shortfall in contributions – $2.4 billion in unpaid regular budget dues and $2.7 billion in peacekeeping – the UN has been forced to cut spending, freeze hiring, and scale back some services. Officials warned that this risks eroding the UN’s credibility and its capacity to fulfil mandates entrusted to it by Member […]
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, urged Member States to remain focused on shared goals even amid global instability. “We are here to serve not our own interests, but the eight billion people of our world,” he said in his keynote address at the Palais des Nations. “To leave a heritage for […]
Across 73 countries, 308 million people now rely on humanitarian aid – a number that continues to rise. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by these crises, facing preventable pregnancy-related deaths, malnutrition, and alarming levels of sexual violence. Despite the growing need, the humanitarian system is facing severe funding shortfalls, threatening life-saving services for women […]
The Security Council is set to meet this afternoon at 3 PM in New York to discuss the deepening crisis in Gaza, where humanitarians warn of “a critical risk of famine” and aid shipments have been blocked for over 70 days. UN relief chief Tom Fletcher is expected to brief ambassadors. Follow live for key […]
“Without funding, asylum seekers are left in limbo – undocumented, unsupported and increasingly desperate,” said Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection. Her comments follow a 41 per cent budget cut to the UN agency’s operations in the country that have had devastating consequences. “This is not about luxuries; the assistance we’re cutting is critical […]
“I hate earthquakes. Earthquakes took my mother and my aunt away,” five-year-old Khin Yadanar told the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), after both her mother and aunt were killed when a brick wall collapsed on them. Around 6.5 million children were already in need of humanitarian assistance before the earthquake, which compounded existing vulnerabilities resulting from the […]
High Representative Christian Schmidt briefed on latest developments surrounding implementation of the 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ended more than three years of bloodshed and genocide following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. The accord, also known as the Dayton Peace Agreement, established a new constitution and created two […]
The 28 March quakes killed over 3,800 people and damaged or destroyed more than 55,000 homes across multiple regions, including Bago, Kayin, Magway, Mandalay, Southern Shan, Naypyitaw and Sagaing. Families already displaced by years of conflict now face early torrential rains, extreme heat and rising risk of disease. Nearly 20 million people – more than […]
With humanitarian resources running dry, critical support for millions of forcibly displaced people is under threat. UNHCR said that two-thirds of countries hosting refugees are already severely overstretched and urgently need support to continue providing education, healthcare and shelter. Global solidarity with those fleeing conflict and violence is weakening, the agency added. ‘No one wants […]
As the Afghan economy faces stalled local production and weak job creation, Afghanistan continues to heavily rely on imports and international assistance. “UNDP’s current analysis and new data indicate the continuation of a deeply troubling trajectory for the Afghan people, who have been grappling with extreme vulnerability over the past decade,” said Kanni Wignaraja, UN […]
And with nearly seven million people forcibly displaced by violence since advances by M23 rebels earlier this year, the DRC is facing one of the world’s most complex displacement crises, according to the UN migration agency (IOM). Living in overcrowded and under-resourced camps, displaced populations are increasingly vulnerable to both disease and attack. Since January […]
In a statement issued by his Spokesperson on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “appalled” by the deteriorating situation in North Darfur, where the regional capital, El Fasher, is under intense and sustained attack. The onslaught comes just two weeks after deadly assaults on the nearby Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps, where […]
The Security Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the Middle East, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot presiding. The UN Secretary-General is expected to brief ambassadors as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, with reports from the UN Palestine refugee relief agency (UNRWA) this morning that children are “going to bed […]
Both the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, and the World Food Programme (WFP) report that food stocks are now exhausted, even as supplies of lifesaving assistance pile up at border crossings waiting to be brought in. Humanitarians continue to warn that hunger is spreading and deepening in the enclave, amid the blockage, access […]
“We’re pushed to our limits,” said Ayaki Ito, Director for Emergencies for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. One mother was so desperate to reach safety she crossed the 100-metre wide Rusizi river separating DRC and Burundi with her three small children and their belongings, Mr. Ito told journalists in Geneva: “I saw this plastic sheeting […]