Tag Archives: Haiti

From Haiti to Ethiopia: voices of climate displacement at COP30

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At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) is pressing negotiators to make climate mobility a core part of adaptation plans.

“People and communities who choose to stay must be safe, and those who decide to move must have the option to do so with dignity,” Ugochi Daniels, IOM’s Deputy Director General said on Thursday.

Across 80 countries, IOM runs projects that put local communities in charge of solutions. Ms. Daniels hopes COP30 will be “a turning point to place human mobility as a key area of climate action,” especially in national adaptation plans and financing for loss and damage.

‘Ten seconds that changed my life forever’

For Robert Montinard from Haiti, this debate is personal. The 2010 earthquake lasted just 10 seconds, but shattered lives for generations. Seeking safety, he fled to Brazil as a refugee. Today, he leads the Mawon Association, helping others rebuild far from home.

At COP30, Robert insists on one thing: refugee voices must be heard.

“We want to be part of the solution. We want migrants and refugees to be heard. Those affected by the consequences of climate change – refugees, Indigenous Peoples, Black communities, women – have the solutions,” he said.

This week, Robert handed a proposal to Brazil’s First Lady, Rosângela Janja da Silva, and Environment Minister Marina Silva. It calls for municipal climate councils, action against environmental racism, and community brigades to respond to disasters.

He calls Haiti’s plight “climate injustice.” The same hurricanes that strike Florida, he said, leave destruction behind in his homeland – but while the US rebuilds swiftly, buildings ruined in Haiti’s 2010 quake still lie in rubble.

A crisis feeding conflict in Ethiopia

From another corner of the Global South, Makebib Tadesse sees the same pattern in Ethiopia, where climate pressures are intensifying conflicts over land and resources.

He described a “continuous cycle of violence and displacement” as food and water grow scarce. In northern Ethiopia, where he was born, the impact of climate change now rivals – or even surpasses – the devastation of the civil war from 1974 to 1991.

“Climate change is pushing people out of Ethiopia in ways we’ve never,” he said.

Both Robert and Makebib are part of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) delegation at COP30, alongside Venezuelan Indigenous leader Gardenia Warao.

‘Brazil’s openness to refugees should be celebrated’

Giving voice to their message is Alfonso Herrera, Mexican actor and Latin America Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, formally known as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

“The voices of refugees have been silenced — and they must be heard,” he told UN News.

Mr. Herrera has traveled across the region – from Mexico to Venezuela, Honduras and El Salvador -witnessing the human cost of climate displacement and the UN’s efforts to restore hope through education and legal support.

He believes Brazil’s openness to welcome refugees deserves recognition, especially “when so many other countries take the completely opposite attitude.”

As COP30 debates how to adapt to a changing planet, displaced people remind the world that climate action is not just about saving ecosystems – it’s about protecting lives, preserving dignity, and ensuring no one is left behind by the rising tide.

UN News is reporting from Belém, bringing you front-row coverage of everything unfolding at COP30.

UN’s Guterres condemns gang attack in Haiti that killed at least 40

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Representational Picture: Civilians left with no space safe to live in Haiti

The overnight assault on September 11 is the latest in a string of brutal incidents and ongoing gang violence that have plagued Haiti since last year.  In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Guterres expressed “condolences” to the victims’ families and urged Haitian authorities to pursue justice.

“The Secretary-General is alarmed by the levels of violence rocking Haiti,” said Stéphane Dujarric. “He calls on Member States to expedite support for the Multinational Security Support mission to assist the Haitian National Police.”

Just two weeks ago, Mr. Guterres addressed the UN Security Council, painting a grim picture of Haiti’s unraveling state. “State authority is crumbling,” he said, as armed groups tighten their grip on Port-au-Prince and surrounding regions, forcing families to flee and disrupting daily life.

With six million people in need of aid and 1.3 million displaced, Haiti’s humanitarian crisis is deepening. Yet less than 10 percent of the $908 million appeal has been funded. “Shamefully overlooked and woefully underfunded,” the UN chief said, warning that 1.7 million people may receive no assistance at all.

Violence unabated turns risky in future

The latest massacre in Labodrie, where dozens were killed this week, underscores the growing brutality of gangs such as Viv Ansanm, which now dominate major neighborhoods and supply routes. Kidnappings, extortion, and targeted attacks have surged, forcing families to abandon homes and seek refuge in makeshift shelters.

Since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, Haiti has struggled to restore political order. A Transitional Presidential Council governs today, but its legitimacy is widely questioned. Elections have been repeatedly delayed, fueling frustration and allowing gangs to fill the vacuum.

The Haitian National Police remain outnumbered and outgunned, even as international backers try to bolster its capacity. A U.N.-authorized security mission led by Kenya has deployed, but with limited personnel and resources, its ability to restore order remains in doubt. Proposals to expand the force to 5,500 troops are still under discussion.

The humanitarian fallout is staggering. According to U.N. estimates, nearly 1.3 million Haitians are displaced within the country. Food insecurity has reached emergency levels, with shortages worsened by blocked roads, gang control of supply chains, and inflation that has put basic staples out of reach for many. Hospitals and clinics are closing or operating at half capacity due to insecurity and lack of supplies.

International donors, including the United States, Canada, and members of CARICOM, have pledged support, but relief has been slow to materialize on the ground. Washington sees the crisis not only as a humanitarian catastrophe but also as a potential migration trigger that could push thousands toward U.S. shores.

Analysts warn that without a decisive and coordinated effort, Haiti risks sliding further into state collapse. “The longer the vacuum persists, the more gangs will consolidate power and the harder it will be to rebuild institutions,” a regional expert noted.

For now, ordinary Haitians face the brunt of the crisis, caught between a fragile state, predatory gangs, and an international community struggling to mount an effective response.

 

Haiti: UN relief chief implores ‘we have to do better’ to support gang-ravaged nation

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“I’m ashamed on behalf of the world that we cannot find it in ourselves to be more compassionate, to be more kind, to recognise what people here are going through,” said Tom Fletcher, who heads the UN emergency relief agency, OCHA, during a visit to the Caribbean nation.

“I listened to people whose lives have been destroyed by brutal violence,” he said. “They are desperate for security, dignity, hope. I refuse to believe we cannot do better for them.”

A country of 11 million, Haiti continues to face a severe humanitarian and protection crisis amid a cholera outbreak and rising malnutrition rates.

Half of all Haitians face food insecurity and unprecedented levels of forced displacement which tripled last year to over one million people, according to an update by OCHA, which noted that large scale displacements have continued into 2025.

A baby is cared for at a health facitlity in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

‘They don’t want to be here’

For more than a year, gangs have taken over large swaths inside and outside the capital, Port-au-Prince, raping, killing, pillaging civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, as well as kidnapping child recruits to fight.

“Right now, up to half of all armed group members are children,” OCHA stated. “Fear permeates daily life” as families are forced to leave their homes and seek shelter, food and safety.

“They’ve been displaced multiple times by violence,” said Mr. Fletcher, who met with authorities, partners and affected families living in makeshift shelters. “They want to live their lives like anyone else.

“They don’t want to be here. They want to rebuild their lives. They want education for their kids. They want healthcare they need. They need clean water.”

Living ‘in misery’

Some displaced families shared their plight, including Roudy Jean, who said “we need to be able to live in a normal way, like in the rest of the world.”

Cashmina Jean-Michel, a woman displaced by gang violence, said she once owned a beauty salon and employed staff, but lost it all.

“At 5am, there was a lot of shooting,” she recalled. “I lost everything, my belongings, my business, but the safety of my children was my absolute priority. I had no choice but to get them and run immediately. Today, I live in a very cramped space in misery, where I can only keep one of my children while the others must stay with friends.”

Many families have been displaced two or three times, the UN relief chief said.

The UN’s relief coordinator, Tom Fletcher, meets a family in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Food and shelter shortages

Innocent Fagneau, vice-president of a site for internally displaced people like Mr. Jean and Ms. Jean-Michel, described current challenges.

“Now, with the quantity of people we currently have, this space was not designed for this use,” he said.

“There’s also a food problem at this site. The quantity of food we receive to distribute, for example, we finish the amount by noon, but what about 3 or 4pm? People should still be able to eat something.”

Rebuilding lives, overcoming despair

The OCCED’H youth centre provides rays of hope, specifically targeting adolescents and youth from communities affected by armed violence and those living in sites for internally displaced people in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, where access to education and training opportunities is extremely limited.

The centre offers practical and vocational training to nearly 300 students, among them Phanie Sagesse, who is learning leather crafting.

“I love to develop my creative skills, and if you take leathercraft seriously and put all your heart in what you are doing,” she said, “it can help you achieve economic independence.”

‘We have to be here’

On a visit to the youth centre, Mr. Fletcher said “we can find ways to push back against this crisis, against a sense of despair and deterioration because here…these young people, they are cutting hair, they’re doing manicures, they’re learning to pedicure, they’re making bracelets, they are learning to fix motorbikes. But, ultimately, they’re rebuilding their lives.”

He said the world must lend a hand in that regard.

“We can see that people can build back their communities as well, not just as individuals, but as a society, as Haiti, and ultimately, that’s why we have to be here,” he said. “That’s why the world must be here, helping them to rebuild from always despair from the ruins of their lives.”

‘This is not enough’

While UN agencies scramble to provide support and essential goods and services, Mr. Fletcher said more must be done.

To date, the humanitarian appeal for Haiti remains severely underfunded. Of the $908 million required to address urgent needs, only 11 per cent is funded, leaving a $800 million funding gap.

“This is not enough,” the UN relief chief said. “I can’t believe that we’re struggling so much to raise the funds necessary to support these families as they try to rebuild their lives, but we have to be there for them. We have to do better.”

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‘The people of Haiti are in a perfect storm of suffering,’ warns UN chief

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Six million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, while 1.3 million people – half of them children – having been forced to flee their homes, he added.

‘Shamefully overlooked’

Haiti now ranks among the five hunger hotspots worldwide that are of “highest concern,” said the UN chief. Yet it remains the world’s least funded humanitarian appeal. Less than 10 per cent of the $908 million needed has been received.

The UN chief lamented the level of international neglect, describing Haiti as “shamefully overlooked and woefully underfunded,” as armed groups continue to block humanitarian access and attack aid workers.

Due to the lack of resources, around 1.7 million people risk receiving no humanitarian assistance at all. “This is not a funding gap. It is a life-and-death emergency,” he said, urging donors to act before lifesaving operations grind to a halt.

Across the country, basic services have collapsed, and mass displacement has left children without education, healthcare or any sense of safety. As of April, gang violence had interrupted the schooling of some 243.000 children, as attacks on schools continued.

‘Unimaginable suffering’

The head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell, told ambassadors Haiti’s youth are enduring “unimaginable suffering amidst the brutal armed violence.”

She noted that last year the UN in Haiti had verified more than 2,000 grave violations against children – a nearly 500 per cent increase on the previous year.

The Caribbean nation last year was among the five worst offenders worldwide, Ms. Russell added, including cases of summary execution.

Even more concerning, she said, was the 700 per cent increase in cases of recruitment and use of children by armed groups, alongside a 54 per cent increase in killing and maiming, according to Ms. Russell.

Children now account for a staggering 50 per cent of all active gang members in Haiti.

“I ask Members of this Council to use all available leverage to protect children,” she said, and to support “concrete actions” which will prevent violations from spiralling still further.

‘Signals of hope’

Despite the bleak outlook across Haiti and soaring levels of violence and lawlessness, “there are emerging signals of hope,” said the Secretary-General.

Closer coordination between the Prime Minister’s Task Force, the Haitian National Police and Security Council-backed Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) is improving operations on the ground, he said.

But, more decisive international support is required to protect and expand these fragile gains.

The Kenyan-led mission was authorised by the Security Council in October 2023 and aims to help over-stretched Haitian authorities stem the gang violence and restore national security, especially in the capital.

Mr. Guterres welcomed efforts by the Security Council to advance his proposal to strengthen the MSS through UN logistical and operation support, and urged ambassadors “to act without delay and authorise an international force, supported by the UN through logistical and operational backing, and predictable financing.”

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SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Haiti ‘shamefully overlooked’, warns Guterres

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Haitians are enduring a “perfect storm of suffering” the UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Thursday as gang violence continues to paralyse daily life across the island. Around 1.3 million people – half of them children – have fled their homes and six million are relying on humanitarian assistance. Follow our live Meetings Coverage as the latest crisis debate unfolds.

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First Person: ‘Tomorrow is too late’ to scale up humanitarian aid in Haiti

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Women and girls face the brunt of this crisis. Gender-based violence (GBV) such as gang rape is rampant, particularly in the capital Port-au-Prince, and is exacerbated by precarious conditions in displacement camps.

Yet, recent funding cuts have shut down centres for sexual and reproductive health and GBV services. Displacement and insecurity make the services that do exist often too difficult to access.

Christian Vovi, the UN reproductive health agency’s (UNFPA) Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, has been working in the Caribbean island nation since 2022.

He sat down with UN News ahead of World Humanitarian Day to discuss this crisis and his perspective as a humanitarian on the ground.

© Christian Vovi Lubanzadio

Christian Vovi, UNFPA Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti.

Remote work

“Sometimes there is the possibility of an attack, so we are obliged to work from home.

This situation has limited our capacity to go to the field to see the affected people, to meet with women, to observe the situation in the camps and communities, so security is a barrier for us sometimes.

We can organize meetings virtually, meet with women online and with the partners to follow up and monitor activities.

Increase in GBV cases

Continued displacement creates new GBV needs that humanitarian actors must respond to, despite the limited financial capacities. There is a continuous increase in the number of reported cases of GBV.

In some of the cases we manage, we hear about how gang members arrive in the community, burn houses and then rape a mother or father in front of the family.

When you talk with women, they are desperate as they struggle to secure even the most basic necessities.

Because women don’t have access to financial resources, there has been an increase in the cases of prostitution.

© PAHO/WHO/David Lorens Mentor

People gather at a site for displaced people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Desperate for services

Protection services are urgently needed. We have more than 100 sites for displaced people, but only 11 or 12 sites are covered with the GBV protection services.

There is also the issue in terms of shelter, because when we have many families living together in a small room, there is a larger risk of GBV.

Urgent funding needs

UNFPA distributes dignity kits, which contain items that women need, and provides other goods and services, but it’s not enough, we need more.

In Haiti, there are now over one million displaced people. Since 26 per cent are women of reproductive age, we need to mobilise millions of dollars so we can meet their urgent needs.

In 2020, the US provided around 65 per cent of the humanitarian funding for the response plan in Haiti. But with the US funding cuts, we are no longer able to provide services to 25,000 women and girls in certain displacement sites.

The US also funded 100 per cent of the post-rape kit procured since 2023, so now, our stocks of these kits are very low.

A woman says she was raped while fleeing from gang violence with her six children and while she was four months pregnant.

Work of UNFPA despite limitations

Despite these funding and access limitations, UNFPA and its partners continue to stay in Haiti.

UNFPA leads the GBV coordination mechanism. We continue to provide remote support for the GBV cases through the hotline to ensure that the cases can access services despite the security limitations.

We continue to ensure that if movement is limited, the affected people can access the services, psychosocial support and information on available services through the telephone hotline.

Call to action

The international community and donors must fill the large funding gap in the Haitian humanitarian response plan.

The Haitians think that their situation is neglected because they believe that the humanitarian international community has all the assets and funding to stop the violence and assist the affected people.

The government, diplomats and the international community should advocate now for a clear end to the current violence and to stop the retaliation against women and girls in Haiti.

It is important to act now because for me, tomorrow is too late regarding the humanitarian need and the living conditions of the women in the displacement sites.”

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Haiti: More than 1,500 killed between April and June, UN report finds

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These numbers are similar to those from the first quarter of 2025 when 1,617 people were killed and 580 were injured.  

“Gang attacks in the Artibonite and Centre departments, and in the capital, continue to cause serious human rights violations and exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis,” said Ulrika Richardson, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti.  

Gangs within and beyond the capitol

President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in 2021 triggered widespread gang violence in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Today, the UN estimates that gangs control at least 85 per cent of the city.  In the past few months, many have begun to expand their influence in the Centre and Artibonite departments.  

In June alone, 45,000 people were displaced in Centre and Artibonite, meaning that the total number of displaced people across these two departments totals over 240,000, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).  

Between April and June, security forces were able to slow down the gang’s expansion in the capital, but the UN office in Haiti, BINUH.  noted that the situation still remains exceptionally volatile.  

As they expand their territory, gangs have committed human rights violations, according to the UN, including gang rape, extrajudicial killings, child exploitations, trafficking and murder.

“Gang members continued to resort to murders, gang rapes, and kidnappings to maintain their control over populations living in areas under their influence,” BINUH said.  

Different perpetrators

The UN has long warned that gangs are not the only groups committing human rights abuses and violations in Haiti — government security forces and local self-defence groups have also committed violations.  

Of the 1,520 people killed and 609 injured between April and June, most were in the capital or the Centre and Artibonite departments, with 24 per cent of them killed or injured by gangs.  

Security operations against gangs accounted for 64 per cent of the deaths and injuries during this period, with 73 documented cases of summary executions and one-third of the deaths occurring as a result of explosive drones.  

Self-defence groups, which have formed as a reaction against the gangs and security force’s inability to contain them, were responsible for 12 per cent of those killed and injured.  

Respect human rights

The humanitarian situation in Haiti is increasingly dire, with over 1.3 million people displaced and half of the population facing food insecurity.  

With the humanitarian response plan only 8 per cent funded, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is calling on the international community to step up financial support.  

The report also urged the international community to continue to increase support for Haiti’s fight against gangs.  

“The report calls on the Haitian government, with the support of the international community, to strengthen the fight against gangs while strictly respecting human rights and standards on the use of force,” the UN Mission in Haiti said.  

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World News in Brief: First UN mission to Syria’s Sweida, fresh displacement in Haiti, new lightning record

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The team went to Sweida City, as well as two districts – Shahba and Salkhad – where they met with local community representatives and partners, in addition to visiting displacement sites and reception centres. 

Members also conducted assessments in the three districts of the governorate, where hundreds of people have been killed, and some 175,000 people displaced, in recent sectarian violence amid Syria’s ongoing political transition since the fall of the Assad regime last December.

A senior UN official told the Security Council earlier this week that a fragile ceasefire is “largely holding”.

More aid delivered

OCHA said a fifth humanitarian aid convoy organized by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent also arrived in Sweida on Thursday. It was the largest so far, with 40 trucks.

The convoy, which included UN assistance, delivered medical supplies, flour, fuel, canned goods, hygiene kits and shelter materials, among other assistance. 

On Wednesday, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent also delivered four tankers carrying more than 120,000 litres of fuel.

Haiti: Armed groups expand activities

Armed groups in Haiti are expanding their presence and activities in the Artibonite region which has sparked waves of displacement, according to OCHA. 

Last Monday, violence linked to armed groups flared in the town of Liancourt, where a vehicle and several homes were set on fire. This followed a week of violent clashes.

As of 19 July, nearly 15,000 people have been displaced across four communes in Artibonite. They are staying with host families, many of whom were already finding it hard to meet basic needs.

OCHA said response efforts are underway, led by local humanitarian partners. They have distributed hygiene kits to more than 500 displaced households and host communities, as well as hundreds of hot meals.

2017 lightning flash in US Great Plains sets new world record

A lightning flash in a notorious storm hotspot in the United States nearly a decade ago has been certified as the longest on record, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced on Thursday.

The megaflash – an incredible 829 kilometres long (515 miles) – occurred during a major storm in the Great Plains in October 2017 and was some 61 kilometres greater than the previous record, also set in the same region.

It extended from eastern Texas to near Kansas City, equivalent to the distance between Paris and Venice in Europe: a journey that would take roughly eight to nine hours by car, or at least 90 minutes by plane.

Value of early warning systems 

The flash was not identified in the original 2017 analysis of the storm but was discovered through re-examination. 

WMO’s Committee on Weather and Climate Extremes recognized the new record with the help of the latest satellite technologies and the findings were published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

“Lightning is a source of wonder but also a major hazard that claims many lives around the world every year and is therefore one of the priorities for the international Early Warnings for All initiative,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

Launched in 2022, the initiative aims to ensure that everyone on the planet is protected from hazardous weather, water, or climate events through early warning systems by the end of 2027. 

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World News in Brief: Violence in Somalia, cholera in Haiti, tax support for sustainable development

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Clashes intensified in the town of Mahas in the Hiraan region, Hirshabelle state, on 26 July forcing the entire population – over 28,000 people – to flee their homes. 

Another 38,000 people were displaced in the Gedo region, Jubaland state, between 23 and 26 July, some of whom crossed into Kenya. 

Security concerns have forced seven health facilities in the Hiraan region to suspend operations, leaving thousands of people without essential healthcare and emergency services. Humanitarian access also has been restricted, particularly in areas that were already hard to reach.  

OCHA noted that only a limited number of aid partners are able to operate in these locations given the insecurity as well as financial constraints. Meanwhile, affected communities urgently need shelter, food, clean water, healthcare and protection. 

The situation is unfolding as aid agencies grapple with severe funding cuts. A $1.4 billion humanitarian plan for Somalia this year is around 16 per cent funded, with $229 million received to date.

Cholera haunts displaced families in Haiti

Cholera continues to impact the fragile public health system in Haiti, particularly in sites hosting displaced people where there is limited access to safe water and sanitation.

The Caribbean country is confronting multiple political, security and socio-economic crises, including rampant gang activity mainly in the capital, Port-au-Prince.  

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said that between 13 and 19 July, 34 new suspected cholera cases were reported across six of the nation’s 10 departments. Most were linked to displacement sites. 

Five active transmission hotspots have been identified, including in Port-au-Prince and in the northern regions. 

Since December 2024, over 2,800 suspected cholera cases have been recorded across Haiti, with 91 laboratory-confirmed cases and 36 fatalities. 

Despite funding shortfalls, UN humanitarian partners continue to carry out key cholera prevention and response activities. 

Families in Artibonite department received water purification tablets and oral rehydration salt, for example, while partners in central Haiti have installed handwashing stations and scaled up community outreach. 

Experts to help countries create tax policies that advance sustainable development

Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed 25 experts to a UN committee to help countries design tax policies that advance their social, environmental and economic development objectives. 

The UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters supports governments in navigating complex policy trade-offs.  Its work provides countries with practical options and tools based on real-world experiences from tax systems across the globe. 

The 25 experts, who will serve for the 2025-2029 term, have diverse expertise in tax policy design and administration, as well as international tax cooperation. 

They represent various geographical regions and tax systems, and the majority are women, reflecting the UN’s commitment to strengthening inclusivity in tax leadership. 

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Haiti: Violence and displacement driving humanitarian crisis as funding needs go unmet

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Nearly 1.3 million people in the Caribbean country have fled their homes, with an additional 15,000 uprooted last week after armed attacks in the communes of Dessalines and Verrettes in the Artibonite department.

Further, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have screened more than 217,000 children for acute malnutrition in 2025. Some 21,500 children have been admitted for acute malnutrition treatment, representing a mere 17 per cent of the 129,000 children who are projected to need lifesaving services this year.  

This malnutrition stems from severe food insecurity across the country. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported that an estimated 5.7 million people – more than half of Haiti’s population – faced high levels of acute food insecurity between March and June this year.  

Education emergency

Haiti’s children also face an education emergency. More than 1,600 schools remain closed in Haiti, an increase of over two thirds compared to the start of the year.  

“Without access to education, children, of course, are more vulnerable to exploitation and recruitment by gangs,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at Headquarters in New York

In response, UNICEF has provided learning opportunities to more than 16,000 children, and the agency has given over 100,000 children mental health and psychosocial support.      

Insecurity and lack of funds straining access

Despite dire humanitarian needs and commendable efforts by UN agencies, the current support “is just a fraction of what is needed in Haiti”, Mr. Dujarric emphasised.

Insecurity continues to constrain the humanitarian response, causing access challenges, supply shortages and the closure of health facilities.

Subsequently, the many displaced families in urgent need of hygiene supplies, food, emergency shelter, medical assistance and other essential items are often unable to access them.  

Humanitarian response is also hampered by a severe lack of funds.

“Haiti remains, as I have said here many times, the least funded of our underfunded country appeals globally,” Mr. Dujarric stressed. More than halfway through the year, the Haitian humanitarian response plan has received less than 9 per cent of the $908 million required.  

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World News in Brief: Violence in Haiti, rising insecurity in DR Congo, expert panel on nuclear war

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Displaced Haitians are dispersed among the 250 active displacement sites across the country, most of which are informal. Just over a fifth of these sites are managed by humanitarian organizations, meaning that many are living in precarious conditions.  

In June alone, more than 200 alerts were reported across displacement sites, over 80 per cent of which were related to essential needs such as lack of water, food, shelter or healthcare.

OCHA noted that nearly 1.3 million people are now internally displaced in Haiti, the highest number ever recorded in the country due to violence.

Constrained UN response

The UN and partners have supported more than 113,000 displaced Haitians this year, providing essential services such as water, shelter, sanitation and healthcare.

The humanitarian response is severely constrained by limited funding and persistent insecurity, hampering humanitarian access to the most affected areas and delaying the delivery of aid. 

Despite the challenges, the agency continues to work closely with Haitian authorities and humanitarian partners to coordinate relief efforts and mobilise additional resources to support displaced communities. 

DR Congo: Ongoing violence in the east drives displacement, impedes aid delivery

Ongoing violence in North and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to claim the lives of civilians and to trigger new displacement. 

In North Kivu, UN partners on the ground in Rutshuru and Lubero territories reported that fighting between M23 and other armed groups was ongoing until Tuesday, resulting in eight civilian deaths and 42,500 displaced people as of earlier this week. 

Since early July, heavy clashes between M23 and other armed groups in South Kivu have also persisted, as local partners said the fighting has displaced at least 37,000 people from their homes. 

Aid access restrictions 

The surge in violence is making it harder for humanitarians to deliver assistance to vulnerable communities. 

While partners and teams on the ground are doing their best to maintain services for those affected, access restrictions and severe funding shortages pose significant obstacles. 

A humanitarian convoy coordinated by OCHA along the road between the provincial capital Bukavu and the city of Uvira, primarily planned for this Friday, has been postponed due to a lack of security guarantees on that route. 

Many UN partners on the ground are forced to scale back their operations, disrupting essential services for those in need. 

OCHA called on the international community to take urgent action to address these severe funding gaps and avert a humanitarian tragedy. 

New panel to examine the effects of a nuclear war

The UN Secretary-General has appointed an independent scientific panel of 21 experts to examine the physical and societal consequences of a nuclear war on a local, regional and planetary scale in the days, weeks and decades following such an event.

The creation of the panel, mandated by a General Assembly resolution, comes at a time when nuclear guardrails are being eroded and “the risk of nuclear war is higher than at any point since the depths of the Cold War,” UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Friday during the daily media briefing from Headquarters in New York. 

The panelists will seek input from a wide range of stakeholders – including international and regional organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), civil society and affected communities. 

Members will hold their first meeting in September and will submit a final report to the General Assembly in 2027. 

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World News in Brief: Haiti funding cuts bite, civilian suffering intensifies in Myanmar, Belarus deaths in custody alert

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Ongoing violence is compounding the country’s food crisis, disrupting local food production in critical areas such as the commune of Kenscoff and the Artibonite department, often considered the breadbaskets of Haiti.

While the UN and its partners are responding “wherever and whenever possible,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said this Wednesday that humanitarians have only been able to reach 38 per cent of the population they aim to support.

Multiple roadblocks

“This is due to ongoing violence and insecurity, severe underfunding of the response, and the obvious access challenges,” he said.

Over halfway through the year, Haiti is the least-funded of the many humanitarian appeals that the UN coordinates – despite shortfalls for food security in the country being at extreme levels – with just over two per cent of the $425 million needed this year received to date.

Myanmar: Intensifying conflict impedes humanitarian aid

Almost four months after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake, the UN is deeply concerned over the plight of civilians caught up in the country’s devastating and continuing conflict between the military regime and opposition armed groups.

As fighting intensifies, civilians are particularly vulnerable, with increasing attacks on infrastructure.

According to reports, an air strike hit a monastery in Sagan Township in Sagaing Region on 11 July, killing 22 people and injuring at least 50 others. The monastery had been providing shelter to displaced people who had fled nearby villages.

A displacement camp in North Shan State was also reportedly hit by an airstrike over the weekend.

‘Broader pattern’

“These incidents are part of a broader pattern of attacks affecting people across Myanmar,” said Mr. Dujarric, with frequent reports of people being killed, injured or displaced by violence.

Such insecurity also impacts the ability of humanitarian teams to reach people in need: with one in three people now facing acute hunger, and the current monsoon season having caused flooding, “the UN urgently calls on all parties to respect human rights and international humanitarian law,” he said.

Belarus: Rights experts urge probe into deaths in custody of opposition activists

Top independent human rights experts called on Belarus on Wednesday to launch urgent investigations into the deaths of several people jailed for political dissent.

The experts – who are known as Special Rapporteurs – highlighted the case of 61-year-old businessman Valiantsin Shtermer. He died in May 2025 while serving his sentence in a so-called “Correctional Colony” in Šklou.

Mr. Shtermer had been jailed for making critical remarks about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite his serious medical condition, he was allegedly denied adequate care in prison.

Fifty-year-old opposition activist Vitold Ashurak meanwhile, also died shortly after being placed in an isolation in the same prison.

According to the Special Rapporteurs, Mr. Ashurak was a member of the Belarusian National Front who was jailed for violating public order during protests related to the disputed 2020 presidential elections.

We must not ignore these deaths

“These deaths must not be ignored,” said the experts, who added that there were strong grounds to believe that they resulted from abuse or neglect linked to the exercise of fundamental rights.

“It is of the utmost importance to thoroughly investigate the alleged instances of ill-treatment and neglect that resulted in the deaths of Shtermer, Ashurak, Puškin and other persons designated as political prisoners by human rights defenders,” the Human Rights Council appointed experts underscored.

“There are strong reasons to believe that these individuals lost their lives in retaliation for exercising their civil and political rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

The independent experts voiced concern that some opposition figures had been stigmatised and labelled as “extremists” or even “terrorists”.

Special Rapporteurs report regularly to the Human Rights Council. They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.

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Security Council renews UN’s Haiti mission amid spiralling crises

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By adopting resolution 2785, the Council renewed the authorization of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), reaffirming support for a Haitian-led solution to the island nation’s overlapping crises.

The decision comes as armed gangs maintain their grip on most of the capital, Port-au-Prince, with over 1.3 million people displaced and more than 4,000 killed in the first half of 2025 alone, according to UN figures.

Conditions have deteriorated dramatically amid growing food insecurity and the erosion of public institutions. Of particular concern is the safety of women and girls, with a sharp rise in reports of sexual violence since the start of the year – including rape, gang rape, and sexual enslavement.

Time is running out

The Security Council also “expressed its intention to consider, without delay” the recommendations by the Secretary-General on possible future roles for the UN in sustaining security and stability in Haiti.

In February, António Guterres presented the Council with a range of options.

“Each new wave of criminal attacks against the communities and institutions of Haiti is a distressing sign that time is running out,” the UN chief said in a letter.

He urged Member States to support the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, which the Council authorized in October 2023 to assist Haiti’s national police in tackling gang violence and restoring order. He also emphasized that international efforts to improve security must be matched by national progress toward resolving the political crisis.

Several Council members voiced willingness to engage on the Secretary-General’s proposals. The Chinese representative, for instance, said Beijing was open to working with others to chart a constructive way forward.

“With regard to how to improve the situation in Haiti, including how to respond to the Secretary-General’s recommendations, we are ready to have candid communication with all parties, explore viable solutions and seek the broadest possible consensus,” said Geng Shuang, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the UN.

Security Council adopts resolution extending the mandate of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) during the meeting on the question concerning Haiti.

Mission critical

The Council’s action was welcomed by Haiti’s Ambassador, who underscored the political and security stakes ahead of a critical 2026 transition timeline.

“This extension should help Haitian authorities undertake a real, genuine political dialogue, to strengthen good governance, bolster security and bring about justice and promote human rights,” said Pierre Ericq Pierre, Permanent Representative to the UN.

He also expressed his Government’s expectation that the UN mission will support implementation of the national roadmap, including constitutional reforms and elections.

Emphasizing national ownership, he added: “BINUH must work as part of a holistic plan to support Haitian authorities in confronting the grave crisis shaking the country to its core.”

The United States, which led negotiations on the resolution alongside Panama, stressed the urgency of political progress and called on international partners to increase support.

“Less than one year remains on the Transitional Presidential Council’s planned roadmap for the restoration of democratic institutions,” said Ambassador Dorothy Shea, acting representative.

“Supporting the security of elections and the participation of all sectors of society is key to sustainable political progress in Haiti. Without BINUH, realizing the vision of a stronger, more resilient society would be less likely.”

New mission leadership

Council members also welcomed Carlos G. Ruiz Massieu, appointed as the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of BINUH, succeeding María Isabel Salvador.

Mr. Ruiz Massieu, who currently leads the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, brings decades of diplomatic and political experience, including in peace negotiations and institution-building.

The UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) – a special political mission – was established in 2019 to advise and support Haitian authorities on political dialogue, justice, human rights and governance.

It succeeded a series of UN peacekeeping and political missions on the island, dating back to 1993, including the large-scale MINUSTAH operation, which wrapped up in 2017 after 13 years.

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‘An unending horror story’: Gangs and human rights abuses expand in Haiti

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Left vulnerable, communities then formed self-defence groups and Haitian security forces reinforced their operations and made small gains only to be rebuffed again by gangs.

And at all stages of this cycle, human rights violations are being committed against civilians, according to a report released on Friday by the UN office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN human rights office (OHCHR).

“Caught in the middle of this unending horror story are the Haitian people, who are at the mercy of horrific violence by gangs and exposed to human rights violations from the security forces and abuses by the so-called ‘self-defence’ groups,” said Volker Türk, High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The report also warned about “early signs of criminal governance” in the Centre Department where gangs are beginning to consolidate their gains and act as a de facto governing authority.

Four years of horror

Since 2021 and the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, gang violence has dominated the capital Port-au-Prince which is now 85 per cent controlled by gangs, says the UN.

Over 1.3 million Haitians have been displaced because of this violence, representing the largest displacement due to political upheaval in Haitian history.

Food insecurity among displaced Haitians is rampant, with Haiti one of five countries worldwide which is experiencing famine-like conditions.

As of March 2025, the violence has also expanded into previously untouched areas of the country, specifically the Artibonite and Centre Departments where 92,000 and 147,000 people have been displaced respectively.

The report also noted that recently, gangs have begun to expand beyond central Haiti towards the border of the Dominican Republic, with the apparent goal of controlling key roads through which much of the illegal weapons trafficking is happening.

“The expansion of gang territorial control poses a major risk of spreading violence and increasing transnational trafficking in arms and people,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a UNHCR spokesperson at a briefing in Geneva.

Human rights endangered

Between October 2024 and June 2025, 4,864 people in Haiti have been killed by gang violence. At least hundreds more have been injured, kidnapped, raped and trafficked.

“Human rights abuses outside Port-au-Prince are intensifying in areas of the country where the presence of the State is extremely limited,” said Ulrika Richardson, interim Head of BINUH and UN Resident Coordinator.

While many of these human rights violations – including the denial of the right to life and physical integrity, sexual violence and forced displacement — are being perpetrated by organized gangs, there are also documented human rights abuses at the hands of Haitian authorities.

Specifically, between October 2024 and June 2025, there were 19 extrajudicial executions by security forces in the Artibonite and Centre Departments – 17 of them in Artibonite.

Self-defence groups, which are increasingly prevalent as a result of inadequate State security, have also committed human rights violations, often in the form of lynchings of suspected gang members.

“The human rights violations and abuses that we have documented are further evidence of why Haiti and the international community urgently need to step up to end the violence,” Mr. Türk said.

At this point, there have been no documented human rights abuses committed by the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission authorized by the United Nations and funded and staffed largely by Kenya.

No accountability

The Haitian National Police and MSS have launched multiple operations to regain territory lost to the gangs. While some have been briefly successful, the operations have been unable to maintain a lasting presence or protect local communities, according to the report.

In fact, the report suggests that in the Centre, the situation is trending in the opposite direction with gangs consolidating territorial gains outside the capital and beginning to institute forms of criminal governance.

As a result of this persistent insecurity, judicial operations are virtually at a standstill in the Centre and Artibonite Departments.

“The international community must strengthen its support to the authorities, who bear the primary responsibility for protecting the Haitian population,” said Ms. Richardson.

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World News in Brief: Global investment plunges, hurricane season in Haiti, rising cholera and hunger in South Sudan

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Their latest data shows that the outlook for international investment this year “is negative”, a sharp course correction from January, when “modest” growth seemed possible.

The reasons for this range from trade tensions and tariffs whose main effect has been a “dramatic increase in investor uncertainty”, said UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan.

She said that investment in renewable energy, water and sanitation fell by some 30 per cent and that agriculture saw a 19 per cent drop in investor confidence.

Only the health sector saw an increase of nearly 20 per cent, Ms. Grynspan said, although that only accounts for “less than $15 billion globally”.

‘Very real consequences’

“Behind those numbers are very real consequences. Jobs not created,” she said. “Infrastructure not built, sustainable development delayed. What we see here is not just a downturn. It is a pattern.”

Ms. Grynspan also cited “growing geopolitical tensions” in addition to rising trade barriers around the world as reasons for the fall in global investment for development.

In critical sectors as hi-tech industries and rare earth minerals, governments are also tightening screening measures on proposed foreign investment, the UN agency noted.

Supplies to limit hurricane impact in Haiti critically low

The Humanitarian Country Team in Haiti warned Wednesday that funding and pre-positioned contingency supplies are critically low ahead of what is forecast to be an above-average hurricane season.

Haiti is highly vulnerable to extreme weather, with 96 per cent of the population at risk. Forecasts project 12 to 19 tropical storms and up to five major hurricanes this year.

The alert comes as the fragile island nation grapples with a worsening humanitarian crisis. Armed gangs control much of the country, the collapse of essential services and growing displacement have left 5.7 million people food insecure, 1.3 million displaced and 230,000 living in makeshift shelters ill-equipped to withstand severe weather.

Limited preparations  

Humanitarian actors have pre-positioned limited stocks of essential items, but they are at a record low for a hurricane season posing such high risk.  

For the first time, Haiti will begin the hurricane season without pre-positioned food supplies or the financial resources necessary to initiate a rapid response.  

Meanwhile, UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA) is coordinating missions with UN agencies and partners to assess how to safely resume aid operations in high-need areas, following their suspension on 26 May due to insecurity.

“I am deeply concerned for communities, families, and vulnerable groups who have already been affected by violence and are living in precarious conditions,” said Ulrika Richardson, Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, calling for immediate support.

As of mid-June, the $908 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti is just 8 per cent funded.

Worsening cholera and hunger in South Sudan

OCHA raised the alarm on Thursday over rising malnutrition and cholera cases in war-torn South Sudan.

An estimated 2.3 million children under five urgently need treatment for acute malnutrition, a 10 per cent increase since last July.

This crisis is unfolding amid the world’s most severe cholera outbreak this year, with almost 74,000 cases and at least 1,362 deaths reported as of 16 June.  

The start of the rainy season and waning immunity risk a significant surge in infections.

UN response

The 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for South Sudan is only 20 per cent funded.

Despite limited resources and many challenges, the UN and partners have scaled up efforts, delivering vaccines and life-saving aid to contain the disease and protect the most vulnerable.

“This dire situation is a stark reminder that we need funding urgently to expand food assistance, to expand nutrition and expand health services to those who need it the most,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric at the daily briefing in New York. 

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World News in Brief: Rights abuses in Haiti, Sudan war sees exodus to Chad, food trade optimism

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Between 1 January and 30 May, at least 2,680 people – including 54 children – were killed, 957 injured, 316 kidnapped for ransom, and many more subjected to sexual violence and child gang recruitment.

“Alarming as they are, numbers cannot express the horrors Haitians are being forced to endure daily,” said Mr. Türk.

Conflicts on all sides

In recent months, gangs have attacked Mirebalais in the centre of the country, looting police stations, destroying property and freeing over 500 inmates from the local prison.

Meanwhile, so-called self-defence groups have targeted individuals they suspect of gang affiliation. On 20 May, at least 25 people were killed and 10 injured by a group accusing them of supporting gangs.

Law enforcement has ramped up operations against them. Since January, police have killed at least 1,448 people, including 65 during extrajudicial executions.

Mr. Türk called on the international community to take decisive action to end the violence, including renewed support for the Security Council-backed Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission and full enforcement of the council’s arms embargo.

He also reiterated his call for States to not forcibly return anyone to Haiti.  

“The coming months will be crucial and will test the international community’s ability to take stronger, more coordinated action – action that will help determine the future stability of Haiti and the wider region,” Mr. Türk added.

Outlook for food trade ‘relatively optimistic’, FAO says

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released their annual Food Outlook report Thursday which provides a “relatively optimistic” look at international food markets.  

According to the report, production is expected to increase across almost all categories, with grain production expected to reach record levels. And while prices do remain higher this year than last, between April and May there was an overall decrease of almost one per cent. 

The report noted, however, that global trends — including rising geopolitical tensions, climate shocks and trade uncertainties — may still negatively impact production.  

“While agricultural production trends appear solid, drivers that could negatively impact global food security are increasing,” said FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero.

Fowl, fish fraud and fertilizer flows

The report noted that outbreaks of avian influenza have become more persistent and constitute “one of the most significant biological threats to the global poultry sector.” Nevertheless, poultry exports have largely remained largely resilient so far.  

The issue of fish fraud – the misrepresentation of the location or manner of the catch – was also discussed, with FAO warning that risks are growing.  

Additionally, the report examined fertilizer flows, noting Russia’s growing exports and the decrease in fertilizer prices since the COVID pandemic.  

Overall, the report noted, the cost of imports worldwide has increased by 3.6 percent or nearly $2.1 trillion.  

Eastern Chad ‘reaching a breaking point’ as Sudan war refugees continue to arrive  

Aid teams in eastern Chad warn on Friday that host communities are reaching breaking point because of climate shocks and the pressure of hosting war refugees from neighbouring Sudan.

In an alert, the UN’s top aid official in Chad, François Batalingaya, warned that a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding almost unnoticed by the world’s media.

“Right now, nearly 300,000 people are stranded at the border, waiting to be relocated inland,” he noted.  

“Tens of thousands, mostly women and children, are sleeping in the open without shelter, clean water and health care. These are survivors of war. They arrive traumatized, hungry, and with nothing. They recount stories of mass killings, sexual violence and entire communities destroyed.” 

Major exodus

Since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023, more than 850,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into Chad. They’ve joined the 400,000 existing Sudanese refugees who have arrived over the last 15 years.

The UN aid official explained that even before the latest Sudanese arrivals, nearly one million people in eastern Chad were in urgent need of help.  

Today, “they are sharing what little they have – food, water, and space – with those fleeing the war,” Mr. Batalingaya said.

In an appeal for international assistance, he warned that clinics are overwhelmed, malnutrition is rising and basic services are buckling.  

World News in Brief: Global growth slows, deadly Ukraine attacks, Haiti hurricane hunger risk, legal migration for refugees

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Growth is projected to weaken to 2.3 per cent, or nearly half a percentage point lower than expected at the start of the year, according to the Global Economic Prospects report.

“The global outlook is predicated on tariff rates close to those of late May prevailing,” it said.

“Accordingly, pauses to previously announced tariff hikes between the United States and its trading partners are assumed to persist.”

Although a global recession is not expected, average global growth is on track to be the slowest of any decade since the 1960s.

Poor countries suffer

Growth forecasts are being slashed in nearly 70 per cent of all economies, with the poorest countries most affected.

In most developing countries, nearly 60 per cent, growth should average 3.8 per cent in 2025 before reaching an average 3.9 per cent in the following two years – more than a percentage lower than the average in the 2010s.

The slowdown will impact efforts by developing countries in areas such as job creation, poverty reduction and closing income gaps with richer economies.

“The world economy today is once more running into turbulence. Without a swift course correction, the harm to living standards could be deep,” said Indermit Gill, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist.

The report calls for rebuilding trade relations as “economic cooperation is better than any of the alternatives – for all parties,” he said.

Countries are also urged to improve business climates and to promote employment by ensuring workers are equipped with necessary skills.

At least three dead in new Russian drone assault on Ukrainian cities 

A massive new wave of Russian drone attacks has killed at least three civilians and left Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia engulfed in clouds of thick smoke, aid teams said on Tuesday. 

The attack was reportedly one of the largest since Russia’s full-scale invasion more than three years ago.

In an online update, the UN aid coordinating office, OCHA, said that a maternity ward in Odesa had come under fire, causing injuries and widespread damage to homes. 

Another terrible night

The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, underscored the impact of the violence on civilians, citing 16-year-old Sonya from Kyiv in an online post. “It was a terrible night,” she said. “The sounds were so frightening – a buzzing sound that was getting closer and explosions every five minutes.”

Russia has intensified its airstrikes on Ukraine in recent days. 

According to Moscow, it stepped up its bombing campaign in retaliation for Ukraine’s suprise drone attacks deep inside Russian territory last week codenamed operation spiderweb.

Amid the ongoing conflict, UN humanitarian teams and partners continue to work to help civilians in cities across Ukraine.

They provide first aid, protection services, food, construction materials and other support including counselling and legal advice.

Haiti: Hurricane season is here, but there are no food supplies

The World Food Programme (WFP) has reported that for the first time ever, it has no prepositioned food supplies in Haiti for the hurricane season, which lasts from June to November. 

WFP also said staffers do not have the financial resources to respond quickly to an emergency weather event in the country. 

Other UN agencies have prepositioned water and sanitation kits for 100,000 and health supplies for 20,000 people. However, these are not sufficient, especially in the absence of food, to meet needs during an emergency. 

“The current lack of contingency stocks and operational funds leaves Haiti’s most at-risk communities dangerously unprotected at a time of heightened vulnerability,” Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a briefing Tuesday. 

Famine-like conditions

Food insecurity and malnutrition are already rampant, with over half the population facing acute hunger. Haiti is one of five countries worldwide which is experiencing famine-like conditions. 

Continuing armed violence by gangs in the capital and in other regions has displaced over one million people, compounding the hunger crisis and limiting access to other basic services such as clean water and health care. 

UN agencies in the country estimate that they will need $908 million to continue providing life-saving resources in Haiti, but currently, they have only received $78 million in emergency support. 

Refugees find hope through legal migration

Nearly one million refugees from eight countries with high asylum recognition rates were granted entry permits to 38 destination countries between 2019 and 2023, according to a new report from UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Safe Pathways for Refugees. 

These permits were issued through existing systems for work, study, or family reunification.

“Refugees are using the same legal channels that millions rely on every day,” said Ruven Menikdiwela, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection. 

“We don’t need new systems – just safer access to the ones already in place.”

In 2023 alone, nearly 255,000 permits were issued, marking a 14 per cent increase from 2022 and the highest number recorded since tracking began in 2010. 

Countries such as Germany, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden have played a leading role. 

UNHCR is urging States to remove obstacles for refugees and integrate them into regular migration systems. It also calls for stronger partnerships to expand access to legal pathways amid growing displacement and strained asylum systems. 

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Haiti: WFP concerned over humanitarian situation as hurricane season begins

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With roughly half the population, 5.7 million people, facing some sort of emergency level of hunger, Haiti is one of five countries in the world with catastrophic levels of hunger.  

“Despite all the violence, displacement and collapse”, WFP remains in Haiti, Lola Castro, Regional Director in Latin America and the Caribbean, said during a briefing on Tuesday, having recently returned from the country. 

More than one million people in Haiti are displaced due to ongoing gang violence and insecurity.

As the hostilities are disrupting the food systems and supply chains in the capital Port-au-Prince, WFP is facing a “quite dramatic” situation, Ms. Castro said. 

Displaced population 

Displaced populations, notably in and around Port-au-Prince, are faced with a “very problematic” situation, she said, as hostilities have recently uprooted around 14,000 people from the commune of Kenscoff.  

“Kenscoff is a commune where people used to come and sell their food,” she said, and the same people are now relying on food assistance after their houses were burned and their livelihoods “destroyed.” 

Gender-based violence  

With 6,000 cases of gender-based violence having been reported this year, the situation of women and girls in Port-au-Prince is dramatic, according to Ms. Castro.  

The city is probably “one of the most dangerous places in the world” for women and girls. “We need to provide them support to assure that they become less vulnerable and are not exposed to all this violence,” she said.  

Dwindling aid stocks  

The 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti calls for just over $908 million but is only eight per cent funded. Ms. Castro said WFP alone needs $46.4 million over the next six months to sustain its emergency response and address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition. 

The hurricane season began on 1 June and runs through the end of November. She warned that at this moment when half of all Haitians are already going hungry, a single storm could push millions into a humanitarian catastrophe. 

While in past years, WFP had humanitarian stocks ready in the country and could assist between a quarter to half a million people in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, “this year, we start the hurricane season with an empty warehouse,” she said.  

Unless resources are made available, the agency will have no capacity to respond—there are no contingency supplies, no logistical buffer, and no lifeline for the most vulnerable. 

“We cannot forget the people of Haiti,” Ms. Castro said, calling on the humanitarian community to provide urgent support.  

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World News in Brief: Education suffers amid DR Congo violence, WHO greenlights RSV vaccines, more hurricanes ahead for Haiti

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According to UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, more than 290 schools have been damaged or destroyed in Ituri this year alone, bringing the total number of out-of-school children in the province to over 1.3 million.

Protection crisis

Between January and April 2025, a surge in violence displaced more than 100,000 people – half of them children. During this period, reported cases of abduction, maiming, sexual violence, and the recruitment and use of children by armed groups rose by 32 per cent compared to the same timeframe last year.

John Adbor, UNICEF’s representative in the DRC, referred to the situation as a “protection crisis”, stating: “Violence and conflict are shattering children’s right to learn – putting them at far greater risk of being recruited by armed groups, exploited, and abused.”

“The needs are immense, and our resources are not enough,” Mr. Adbor added, referring to UNICEF’s emergency response in the region.

With more than 1.8 million conflict-affected children now out of school across the DRC, UNICEF is prioritising mental health and psychosocial support through child-friendly spaces, reintegration of children formerly associated with armed groups, and treatment for acute malnutrition.

WHO approves two new vaccines to protect infants from RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of severe lung infections in young children globally, resulting in approximately 100,000 deaths each year among children under the age of five.

Alarmingly, 97 per cent of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.

Although RSV can infect people of all ages, “it is especially harmful to infants, particularly those born prematurely,” said Kate O’Brien from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Around half of all RSV-related deaths occur in babies younger than six months.

New immunisation products

On Friday, WHO issued recommendations for two new immunisation tools: a maternal vaccine, administered to pregnant women in their third trimester to protect their newborns; and a long-acting antibody injection for infants, which begins to protect within a week of administration and lasts for at least five months.

Considering the global burden of severe RSV illness in infants, WHO recommends  that all countries adopt either the maternal vaccine or the antibody injection as part of their national immunisation strategies.

“These RSV immunisation products can transform the fight against severe RSV disease, dramatically reduce hospitalisations and deaths, and ultimately save many infant lives worldwide,” said Ms O’Brien.

Dire hurricane forecasts compound Haiti woes

UN humanitarians have raised alarm over Haiti’s heightened vulnerability to natural disasters, warning that the country’s limited capacity to respond could be severely tested during the 2025 hurricane season – forecast to be significantly more intense than average across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Rubbish burns on the coast of Haiti.

Running from June to November, the upcoming season poses a serious threat to the impoverished island nation, where economic crisis, ongoing gang-related violence and rampant insecurity have already displaced over one million people.

Displacement sites at risk

More than 200,000 people are currently living in displacement sites across the country, many of which are situated in flood-prone areas.

Lacking proper shelter, drainage and sanitation, these camps “leave families acutely vulnerable to storms,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is working with national authorities and humanitarian partners to prepare for the hurricane season. Ongoing efforts include contingency planning, mapping of high-risk areas – particularly displacement sites – and strengthening early warning systems.

However, humanitarian access remains limited, and preparedness is severely hindered by the lack of pre-positioned supplies throughout the country.

This is a “direct consequence of underfunding,” said Mr. Dujarric, adding that “funding remains a major obstacle” to the UN’s emergency response in Haiti.

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Haiti: Displaced families grapple with death ‘from the inside’ and out

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In March, the family fled the gangs again – this time to Boucan-Carré where Leineda’s treatments were put on hold:

“Sometimes, we suffer from silent illnesses that destroy us from the inside,” Christiana said.

Gangs on the march

In the past few months, armed gangs in Haiti have been expanding their reach beyond Port-au-Prince towards the Centre and Artibonite Departments, displacing around 64,000 from those areas, according to UN estimates.

Humanitarian efforts to reach displaced communities have been disrupted by regional insecurity and funding shortages.

“What we’re seeing on the ground is unimaginable. Communities are being displaced daily, and the images of women and children fleeing for their lives with nothing are heartbreaking,” said Wanja Kaaria, the UN World Food Programme’s (WFP) Haiti director.

Attacks beyond the capital

The assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 triggered widespread gang violence in the capital Port-au-Prince. Around 85 per cent of the city is now controlled by gangs. Over one million Haitians have been displaced because of this violence.

In recent months, organised crime groups have expanded their attacks into the Centre Department in western Haiti and neighboring Artibonite in northern Haiti.

In late March, one of the gangs attacked Mirebalais, killing at least 15 civilians and leading to a jailbreak of 515 inmates. In late April, gang members attacked the commune of Petite-Rivière in Artibonite, killing dozens and damaging scores of homes.

Other gang attacks have occurred in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince and throughout Centre, including in Hinche, Boucan-Carré and Saut d’Eau.

Navigating humanitarian aid blockages

After these attacks in the Centre and Artibonite Departments, over 64,000 people have been displaced according to estimates from the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“Across Haiti and as we have seen this week in the Centre region especially, children are trapped in a cycle of fear and suffering, reliving the same nightmare day after day. What they need most urgently is an end to the violence,” Geeta Narayan, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative in Haiti, said.

As a result of ongoing gang activity and security conditions in the region, local authorities have had to scale back humanitarian aid deliveries. UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has cancelled planned field missions.

This is particularly difficult for displaced families who are fully reliant on this aid. Danise, a mother of two, has been displaced many times – first leaving her home in Jérémie, then being deported from the Dominican Republic, next, fleeing violence in Mirebalais before finally settling in Boucan Carré.

“I barely have anything to give [my children],” Danise said. “I always have to wait for food distributions to feed them…I just want to go home.”

Dozens of people displaced from the Haitian communes of Mirebalais and Saut-d’Eau attend hygiene awareness sessions in Boucan Carré.

Providing relief to displaced communities

In spite of deteriorating security, UN aid teams are working with local partners and departmental authorities to continue providing resources to displaced civilians.

“[Displaced people have had their] lives upended – entire families struggling to access water, healthcare or adequate shelter.”

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) “remains engaged alongside local authorities and partners to strengthen humanitarian action, despite limited resources, and continues to advocate for increased support,” Modibo Traore, OCHA’s Head of Office in Haiti, said.

Across the Centre Department, UNICEF has reached 8,500 people with resources, including six mobile clinics.

“We are scaling up our response in the Centre department, providing critical health care, reaching thousands of children with psychosocial support, safe water and access to education where it’s needed most,” Ms. Narayan said.

WFP is also working in the Centre Department to provide hot meals and food kits to displaced communities and has provided assistance to over 13,100 displaced individuals in this region as of early May.

This is the moment to step up. The future of Haiti depends on the actions we take today
– WFP Country Director Wanja Kaaria

“WFP food assistance offers dignity for families now living with little hope. However, funding constraints are impeding us from responding at scale.” Ms Kaaria said.

WFP estimates that it will need $72.4 million over the next 12 months and UNICEF estimates that it will need $1.2 million over the next six months to deal with the ongoing displacements in Haiti.

“This is the moment to step up. The future of Haiti depends on the actions we take today,” Ms Kaaria said.

Finding dignity through care

In recent days, young Leineda has begun to receive the treatment she needs for malnutrition at the Boucan Carré site.

“I feel happy today because before, we didn’t have any doctors to examine us or understand our pain,” Christiana said. The presence of the doctors brings back a sense of dignity. It helps us.”

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