Syria transition gains ground with Kurdish deal, but violence and humanitarian strain persist

Posted on February 14, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

Briefing ambassadors for the first time as Deputy Special Envoy, Claudio Cordone pointed to the 30 January ceasefire and integration agreement between the Syrian Government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as a potentially transformative development.

The deal provides for a phased military and administrative integration of northeast Syria and includes provisions on the return of displaced people and the protection of Kurdish civil and educational rights, building on Presidential Decree 13 on linguistic, cultural and citizenship rights.

“Hostilities have ended and work on an implementation plan has been progressing in a positive manner,” Mr. Cordone said, noting deployments of Ministry of Interior forces in Al-Hasakeh and Qamishli, and discussions on local governance and political appointments.

The Secretary-General on 30 January welcomed the agreement, appealing for all sides “to work swiftly to ensure its implementation, especially in terms of the peaceful integration of northeast Syria, the rights of Syrian Kurds, the safe, dignified and voluntary return of the displaced.”

In a presidential statement issued on Thursday, Council members likewise welcomed the “comprehensive agreement” and stressed the need to adhere to it to “minimize civilian suffering” and prevent any “security vacuum” around ISIL (Da’esh) detention facilities.

What is the UN doing in Syria now?

The UN is supporting Syria’s political transition while continuing large-scale humanitarian operations across the country.

The Office of the Special Envoy is engaging with the Government and a broad range of stakeholders to help advance the political process, including implementation of the recent agreement on northeast Syria, support for inclusive governance, and the protection and promotion of human rights.

At the same time, humanitarian agencies are delivering life-saving assistance to millions of Syrians.

UN teams and partners are providing food, water, medical supplies, shelter and protection services, while supporting mine action, restoring basic services and helping create conditions for safe, dignified and voluntary returns.

Visit the UN News Focus on Syria section to read more about UN’s work in and engagement with Syria.

Situation remains sensitive

The evolving situation around those facilities remains sensitive.

Mr. Cordone said the UN is closely following transfers of Syrian and non-Syrian Da’esh suspects to Iraq, adding that Iraqi proceedings must “fully respect fair trial standards” and urging Member States to repatriate their nationals “as swiftly as possible.”

While the northeast has seen relative stabilization, tensions persist elsewhere.

In Sweida, renewed clashes between Government forces and local armed groups have caused damage and electricity outages. Protests calling for self-determination have resurfaced, and the UN reiterated calls for confidence-building measures within “the full respect of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

In southern Syria, Israeli incursions and search operations have continued, alongside reports of aerial herbicide spraying damaging crops. The UN envoy called for “full respect for international law” and urged Israel to withdraw from areas it occupies “in violation of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement,” while supporting “mutually acceptable security arrangements between Israel and Syria.”

Humanitarian challenges persist

Humanitarian conditions remain severe despite modest improvements.

Lisa Doughten, Director of Financing at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said recent clashes displaced tens of thousands; although many have returned, about 130,000 people remain uprooted across Al-Hasakeh, Ar-Raqqa and Aleppo governorates. More than 90 per cent are women and girls, with many sheltering in overcrowded camps or with host families already under strain.

Heavy flooding this week in Idleb and northern Latakia killed two children and damaged or destroyed some 2,000 tents, affecting over 5,000 displaced people.

Still, access and basic services are gradually improving in parts of the northeast. UN teams have reached 200,000 people and organized more than 170 truck movements. In Ain al-Arab (Kobane), electricity supply has reportedly resumed after repairs.

Participants at a UN workshop on recovery priorities, challenges and response planning.

Meaningful representation of all Syrians crucial

Politically, the next milestone in the transition is the formation of the People’s Assembly. Voting for most elected seats took place in October 2025 – with additional seats, including in Raqqa, due to be filled. Confirmation is awaited on the appointment of 70 members by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, as well as of the date of the opening session.

Mr. Cordone reiterated the importance of meaningful representation of Syria’s regions and diverse groups, stressing that “the protection and promotion of human rights – including addressing the issue of the missing and transitional justice – are fundamental elements for a credible and successful political transition.”

‘Extraordinary role’ of Syrian women

He highlighted the “extraordinary role” of Syrian women and civil society over the decade-long conflict, saying women’s political participation at all levels is “a pillar for a state committed to plurality, inclusion and opportunity for all.”

“I salute the Syrian people for their determination in overcoming decades of oppression and brutal conflict. I look forward to strengthening the UN’s partnership with Syria in pursuit of a stable, peaceful and prosperous future,” he said in Arabic as he concluded his briefing.

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Cuba: UN warns of possible humanitarian ‘collapse’, as oil supplies dwindle

Posted on February 6, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

The United States has threatened to impose tariffs on any country providing oil to Cuba, increasing pressure on the island nation following a decades-long trade embargo and the US seizure of Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro last month.

Venezuela had been the main supplier of oil to Havana but Washington has been ratcheting up pressure on Cuba in recent weeks, including an executive order last Thursday threatening to impose additional tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba, including Mexico.

“I can tell you that the Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba, which will worsen, and if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

The UN chief noted that the General Assembly has been calling for an end to the US embargo for more than three decades: “The Secretary-General urges all parties to pursue dialogue and respect for international law.”

Fuel crisis

The fuel crisis has pushed up food prices for Cubans, led to severe fuel shortages and major power cuts throughout the country.

“Clearly what we see now, especially after the recent events in Venezuela, is a combination of emotions,” said Francisco Pichon, the most senior United Nations official in Cuba, describing “a mix of resilience, but also grief, sorrow and indignation, and some concern about the regional developments.”

Thirty-two Cubans were killed in Venezuela on 3 January in the US operation to capture Mr. Maduro.

The UN’s humanitarian work in Cuba

Mr. Pichon spoke to UN News from Havana last month, where the power had just gone out in his office. The UN team said that the vast majority of Cubans are being hit by rolling blackouts, at a time when the number of people in vulnerable situations has increased significantly.

Even before the latest regional developments, the UN has been working with the Cuban Government to incubate ideas and support development, including ways to diversify the Cuban economy.

“The energy transition is a major priority due to reduced access to fuel and infrastructure challenges,” Mr. Pichon said, noting that investment needs remain a bottleneck.

Urgent changes needed

“The last two years have been quite tough,” he added, stressing that urgent changes are needed to sustain Cuba’s social model “in the midst of the severe economic, financial and trade sanctions”.

Cuba’s economy, which has historically relied on tourism as a key source of hard currency, was severely disrupted in the COVID pandemic and remains well under 2018 levels.

As the Cuban economy has deteriorated, the country’s social indicators – such as universal healthcare, universal education, and extensive social safety nets like subsidised healthcare and food rations – are under strain.

“All of this is happening in the context of the US embargo against Cuba,” said Mr. Pichon, noting that Cuba has also been relisted by the United States as a state sponsor of terrorism.

“From the UN perspective, our guiding principles remain unchanged: To be present. To support. To act based on cooperation, respected for international law, and the UN values.”

Mr. Pichon, as UN Resident Coordinator, oversees the work of 23 UN agencies, funds and programmes. Here is a snapshot of some of the work underway.

Hurricane Melissa

Hurricane Melissa tore through Cuba as a Category 3 storm on 29 October. For the first time in the country, anticipatory action was taken through the release of funds from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), enabling supplies, such as water purification units, food, hygiene kits, generators, medicines, medical and shelter supplies to be pre‑positioned.

The UN launched a $74 million Plan of Action to support national recovery and assist more than 2.2 million people affected by the storm’s destruction. So far, about $23 million has been mobilised targeting the one million most vulnerable.

“No lives were lost directly due to the hurricane,” Mr. Pichon said, owing to the solid capabilities of Cuba’s civil defence, although recovery needs remain enormous, including rebuilding tens of thousands of homes.

Cooperation Framework

The UN’s long‑term engagement in Cuba is undergirded by a cooperation framework aligned with Cuba’s National Development Plan and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This framework has four key pillars:

Institutional: The UN supported the development of around 30 laws following the 2019 constitutional reform, advancing equity, inclusion and rights for women, children, LGBTQ+ persons, people of African descent and persons with disabilities.
Economic: Focuses on productive transformation and access to financing amid ongoing sanctions and the US listing of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. Utilizing the Joint SDG Fund, which helps countries pay for projects related to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Environmental: Disaster risk management and climate resilience are central, especially given Cuba’s exposure to hurricanes, such as Melissa. UN support in anticipation and response seeks to protect lives and livelihoods.
Social: Social protection systems and attention to differentiated needs with a focus on leaving no one behind, including vulnerable groups vulnerable groups such as people living with AIDS, the LGBTI community, children, adolescents, women, and the elderly, who are a very relevant sector in an aging society.

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Violence roiling Nigeria extends beyond religious lines, amid a deepening humanitarian crisis

Posted on January 31, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

The strikes thrust Nigeria’s long-running sectarian bloodshed into the global spotlight – and revived claims that a “Christian genocide” is unfolding in Africa’s most populous country.

But in an interview, the UN’s top humanitarian official in the country has told UN News that the current crisis extends far beyond any single community or conflict. Violence, he cautioned, has spread across much of the country, leaving millions displaced and fuelling what aid agencies describe as one of Africa’s largest – and most overlooked – humanitarian emergencies.

“Security remains one of Nigeria’s major challenges,” said Mohamed Malik Fall, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator. “You can no longer associate it with a single region. It is almost everywhere.”

A conflict that spread

The crisis began in the northeast in 2009, with an insurgency led by the jihadist group Boko Haram, later joined by splinter factions, including the Islamic State-West Africa (ISIS-WA).

Nearly two decades in, the violence has reshaped large parts of the country.

More than two million people remain displaced in the northeast alone, many of them for years. “An entire generation has grown up in displacement camps, knowing nothing else,” Mr. Fall said.

The human toll is extensive: more than 40,000 people killed since the start of the insurgency, thousands of schools and health centres destroyed, and vast agricultural areas rendered inaccessible. But Mr. Fall said the deeper damage has been economic and social.

“People have been cut off from all economic activity,” he said. “They are deprived of the ability to live from their work and preserve their dignity.”

Children walk through the mud in a displaced persons camp in Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria.

Untargeted violence

What was once a localized insurgency has morphed into something broader and more diffuse.

In Nigeria’s northwest – in states such as Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto – armed criminal groups have seized control of rural areas, carrying out mass kidnappings and extortion, a phenomenon authorities describe as banditry.

Entire villages have been abandoned, and around one million people are now displaced in the region, according to United Nations estimates.

In the country’s central belt, clashes between farmers and herders over land, intensified by climate pressure and environmental degradation, have triggered further displacement.

Elsewhere, separatist movements and attacks linked to oil production continue to destabilize communities.

The cumulative result is a country with roughly 3.5 million internally displaced people – nearly 10 percent of all displacement across Africa.

A loaded claim

Recent attacks against churches and Christian schools have revived international attention. In January, more than 160 worshippers were abducted during Sunday services in Kaduna State.

Days earlier, villages in the northwest were attacked, killing dozens, while students near a Catholic school in Papiri were again targeted.

The violence revived memories of the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, most of them Christian, by Boko Haram – a moment that once galvanized global outrage.

Citing the need to protect Christians from Islamist militants, the US administration ordered airstrikes on Christmas Day against jihadist positions in northern Nigeria. In Washington, some officials have since argued that a “Christian genocide” is underway.

The UN is refraining from that characterisation.

“Attributing this violence to the targeted persecution of a religious group – I would not take that step,” Mr. Fall said. “The vast majority of the more than 40,000 people killed in the insurgency are Muslims. They were attacked and killed in mosques.”

He pointed to an attack in Maiduguri, the historic centre of the insurgency, carried out on Christmas Eve in an area “between a mosque and a market,” which killed Muslim worshippers as they left prayers.

“Insecurity affects everyone, without distinction of religion or ethnicity,” he said, warning that oversimplified narratives risk deepening social fractures rather than addressing their causes.

Internally displaced mothers with their children attend a WFP famine assessment exercise in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria.

A crisis measured in millions

Behind the violence lies a humanitarian emergency of enormous scale. In the northeastern states alone, 7.2 million people need assistance – nearly six million of them in severe or critical condition, according to U.N. figures.

Food insecurity has become the defining threat. Aid agencies project that up to 36 million Nigerians could face varying levels of food insecurity in the coming months. Among children under five, more than 3.5 million are at risk of acute malnutrition.

“The consequences are not only immediate,” Mr. Fall said. “Malnutrition affects cognitive development, education, and continues to shape lives well into adulthood.”

Climate shocks – including droughts and floods – have compounded the crisis, alongside recurring cholera and meningitis outbreaks and a fragile health system.

Aid shrinks as needs grow

Despite the scale of the emergency, funding has collapsed.

“A few years ago, Nigeria’s humanitarian response plan raised close to $1 billion annually,” Mr. Fall said. “In 2024, it was $585 million. Last year, barely $262 million. This year, we are not even certain we will reach $200 million.”

The decline comes as donor attention has shifted to higher-profile crises elsewhere, including Ukraine and Sudan.

A test for Africa’s largest economy

Nigeria’s predicament exposes a stark paradox: one of Africa’s largest economies confronting a humanitarian crisis more often associated with far poorer states.

“Nigeria is not Sudan. It is not Somalia. It is not South Sudan,” Mr. Fall said. “This is a country with resources. The primary responsibility for responding to humanitarian needs lies with the government.”

The UN is now urging Nigerian federal and state authorities to take greater ownership of the response, even as it presses donors not to turn away.

“No one wants to live on aid,” Mr. Fall said. “People would rather be helped to access economic opportunities than remain dependent. Giving a fish is good. Teaching how to fish is better.”

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Amid Sudan’s humanitarian crisis, Chad shows ‘act of solidarity’

Posted on January 17, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

That’s according to UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who had discussions with over 40 leaders of Sudanese civil society in Northern State’s capital, Dongola, this week.

“But these representatives have also found the solution,” Mr. Türk said in a video on X. “There needs to be an all-out effort, both within Sudan and by the international community to help them, to facilitate their work.”

The conflict in Sudan which erupted in 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the armed group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has uprooted some 9.3 million people and has brought about one of the world’s largest hunger crises.

Mr. Türk began his visit on Wednesday and is meeting with Sudanese authorities, civil society, humanitarian partners and people displaced by the conflict in Darfur and Kordofan. He will be holding two press conferences at the end of his visit on 18 January.

Chad shows ‘act of solidarity’

Since April 2023, more than 900,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in eastern Chad, with new arrivals every day, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.

The newly-appointed UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih visited Chad this week for the first time in this capacity, where he met with Sudanese refugee families and local authorities.

Many of the refugees he met had been displaced multiple times since the conflict began. They described years of violent attacks and human rights abuses.

“What is unfolding in Sudan is a humanitarian calamity of overwhelming scale. Chad’s generous welcome of refugees is a powerful act of solidarity,” Mr. Salih said.

From displacement to solutions

Mr. Salih also acknowledged the host communities that have welcomed refugees despite economic hardship and environmental pressure.

He reiterated UNHCR’s readiness to work with the Government and others to facilitate economic opportunity and provide services for both refugees and the host communities.

The UN Refugees chief, Barham Salih (centre), speaks with Sudanese refugees at a women’s centre in Farchana, Chad.

“Visiting Chad and Kenya this last week, both countries clearly demonstrate how, with sustained international support, inclusive policies can move us from responding to displacement emergencies towards providing solutions,” Mr. Salih emphasised.

“When refugees are protected and included, they can rebuild their lives and contribute to the societies that host them. This is what I am seeing here, and this is the direction in which we must travel.”

World News in Brief: Gaza humanitarian update, more killings in Sudan, ending impunity in Myanmar

Posted on August 23, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

Multiple strikes overnight into Friday were reported in the Jabalya Al Balad and An Nazla neighbourhoods, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest update.

As a result, around 900 people reportedly fled towards the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood and western Gaza City.

Safe passage, more aid

The UN and partners again reminded parties to the conflict of their obligation to protect civilians, in line with international law, including humanitarian workers and people who cannot or choose not to move. 

“Those fleeing must be allowed to do so safely. They must also be allowed to return if they wish to do so, as the situation allows,” OCHA said.

The agency underscored the need to ensure that people have access to aid and basic services, whether they leave or stay.

Supplies also must be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip through all available crossings and corridors, and humanitarians must have safe, predictable and sustained access to deliver aid at scale.

Hospitals under strain

Meanwhile, as strikes continue to intensify across the enclave, casualties are flooding hospital emergency departments.

Humanitarians warned that the expansion of military operations would further cripple the collapsing healthcare system.

Nearly half of all hospitals and field hospitals are located in Gaza City, accounting for some 40 per cent of bed capacity in the entire enclave. Additionally, many medical facilities in the south are operating several times over their bedspace capacity.

Humanitarians stressed that access to healthcare must be immediately restored to avert more preventable deaths.

Sudan: UN rights office horrified by recent killings in El Fasher

Recent brutal attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan have left at least 89 people dead in North Darfur state, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday

The RSF have been battling the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for control of the country for more than two years.

OHCHR said RSF attacks on the besieged North Darfur capital El Fasher and the adjoining Abu Shouk camp for displaced people resulted in the killing of at least 89 civilians, though the actual number could be higher.

The attacks took place over a 10-day period ending on 20 August.

Apparent summary executions

At least 32 civilians were killed in attacks between 16 and 20 August, while at least 57 were killed in previous attacks on 11 August.

OHCHR was particularly horrified that 16 of the most recent killings appear to have been summary executions, Spokesman Jeremy Laurence told journalists in Geneva.

“Most of the victims were killed in Abu Shouk camp and belonged to the African Zaghawa tribe, according to information gathered by our Office,” he said.

“In another case in the El Fasher area, a victim was asked which tribe he belonged to. He was killed after responding that he was from the African Berti tribe.”

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in El Fasher has reached a critical stage after more than a year of siege, and there is growing risk of famine in the city and other areas of North Darfur.

OHCHR was appalled by two separate attacks on UN humanitarian convoys in North Darfur this month and in June, saying such attacks only worsen the human rights situation for civilians.

Ending impunity for violence critical for Rohingya in Myanmar

The UN human rights office has also called for ending impunity in the violence against the Rohingya people in Myanmar and ensuring their rights to security, citizenship and equality.

It said the Rohingya – a mostly Muslim minority community in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar – continue to suffer, eight years after a deadly crackdown by the military.

More than 700,000 fled to Bangladesh in the wake of the assault which began on 25 August 2017, joining others who had escaped earlier waves of attacks.

Break the cycle

OHCHR said that ending impunity and ensuring the Rohingya’s rights to security, citizenship and equality, are essential for breaking the cycle of violence.

The Rohingya mainly live in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, and the office noted that the human rights and humanitarian situation there have sharply deteriorated since November 2023, further deepening the already life-threatening conditions they face.

OHCHR urged the international community to step up support for the Rohingya by increasing humanitarian funding to secure access to basic needs, essential services, and to ensure accountability.

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UN honours fallen aid workers on World Humanitarian Day

Posted on August 20, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

The first eight months of 2025 show no sign of a reversal of this disturbing trend, with 265 humanitarian workers killed as of 14 August, according to figures released on World Humanitarian Day.

Attacks on humanitarian workers, assets and operations violate international law and undermine the lifelines that sustain millions of people trapped in war and disaster zones.

“Even one attack against a humanitarian colleague is an attack on all of us and on the people we serve,” said Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), speaking in Geneva.

At Headquarters in New York City, the UN hosted a commemoration ceremony for the victims of the bombing of the United Nations headquarters its office in Baghdad in 2003, which cost the lives of 22 people. Some of the survivors attended the event.

Protect aid workers

“Humanitarians carry hope where there is despair,” said Mr. Fletcher at the World Humanitarian Day 2025 Commemoration Ceremony in Geneva.

“They bring humanity where there is inhumanity.”

Yet, humanitarian workers are under attack.

In 2024, most of the aid workers killed were national staff serving their communities and were attacked in the line of duty or in their homes.

Since October 2023, 520 aid workers, mostly staff with UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, have been killed in Gaza — the deadliest place for humanitarians for the second year running.

OCHA demanded that Member States protect civilians and aid workers, and hold perpetrators accountable.

Despite the dangers, “humanitarians will not retreat”, said Mr. Fletcher.

Humanitarians in the Middle East

Across the Middle East, civilians, including humanitarian workers, “are being killed, injured, and attacked in shocking numbers,” said the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Syria, Yemen and Lebanon in a joint statement this Tuesday.

Since August 2024, at least 446 humanitarian workers have been killed, wounded, kidnapped or detained in these locations. “The world is failing humanitarian workers and the people they serve,” the statement read.

Renewing their call for the respect of international humanitarian and human right laws, the officials called on the international community to “protect those who protect humanity.”

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World Humanitarian Day 2025: Aid workers mull record toll of their own

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

Speaking to UN News from the wartorn enclave to mark World Humanitarian Day, Olga Cherevko from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said that exhausted aid workers continue to show up for work “day in and day out”.

Approaching two years since the start of the war in Gaza, Ms. Cherevko emphasized the commitment of her Palestinian colleagues, “the doctors, the nurses, aid workers who many of them have, lost everything and several times over”.

Red lines crossed

In comments in support of aid workers everywhere, UN Secretary-General António Guterres pointed out that humanitarian teams “are the last lifeline for over 300 million people” impacted by conflict or disaster.

Despite their lifesaving role, funding cuts are having a serious and negative impact on the world’s most vulnerable people, Mr. Guterres warned, while those who provide aid are increasingly under attack as “red lines are crossed with impunity”.

This is despite the fact that such attacks are prohibited under international law, the UN chief continued, noting that although governments have pledged action to protect them, “what is missing is political will – and moral courage…Humanitarians must be respected and protected. They can never be targeted.”

Powerless to help

From her base in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, Ms. Cherevko reflected on the nature of humanitarian work today and the frustration that aid teams often face when their lifesaving missions are delayed, preventing them from delivering assistance at scale.

“I think as a humanitarian, I feel powerless sometimes in Gaza because I know what it is that we can do as humanitarians when we’re unable to do so, both here in Gaza and in any other humanitarian crisis,” she explained.

“The fact that we continue to face massive impediments for delivering aid at scale, when our missions are delayed, when our missions lasted 12, 14, 18 hours; the routes that we’re given are dangerous, impassible or inaccessible.”

Surge in killings

Latest data indicates a 31 per cent surge in aid worker deaths compared to 2023, driven by the relentless conflict in Gaza.

The Strip saw 181 humanitarian workers killed in 2024, with 60 more fatalities in Sudan. More widely, violence against aid workers increased in 21 countries in 2024 compared to the previous year, with State actors the most common perpetrators.

Worryingly, there is no sign that the trend is slowing this year, with 265 aid workers killed as of 14 August this year, according to provisional data from the Aid Worker Security Database.

Amid early reports that Hamas has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and ongoing uncertainty about the Israeli plan to pursue a complete military takeover of the enclave, OCHA’s Ms. Cherevko highlighted the need for a permanent end to the conflict.

Aid teams are exhausted and “everyone’s still showing up (to work), but courage alone and commitment alone isn’t going to feed people, isn’t going to save people”, she insisted. “What we need is, again, a permanent ceasefire. We need political solutions to this conflict and a resolution to this crisis.”

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

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

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, 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.

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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World News in Brief: Cholera strikes Sudan and beyond, humanitarian needs grown for returning Afghans, rising insecurity in DR Congo

Posted on August 16, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

So far this year, cholera has killed more than 4,300 people across 31 countries. These figures are underestimates and there is particular concern for those impacted by war in Sudan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Yemen.

In Sudan, the disease has already claimed over 1,000 lives since 1 January. It has reached every state in the country, one year after the outbreak started, according to WHO.

Cases rise in war-torn Darfur

With the sub-Saharan rainy season now underway, the UN agency is worried about a spike in the waterborne disease, linked to the huge numbers of people fleeing ongoing violence.

“While cases have plateaued or decreased in some areas, including Khartoum, they are rising in the Darfur region and neighboring Chad. In Tawila, North Darfur,” said WHO’s Kathryn Alberti.

Refugees have quadrupled the population from close to 200,000 to over 800,000, causing immense strain on water and sanitation systems, she added.

“People have as little as three litres of water daily and this is for cooking, washing, cleaning and drinking.”

To respond to the problem, WHO and partners have set up task forces, deployed rapid response teams for surveillance and stockpiled essential cholera supplies in Darfur – although “large parts” of Darfur and Kordofan remain unreachable.

Humanitarian needs keep growing in Afghanistan

Four years after the de-facto Taliban regime took over Afghanistan, more than half of the population needs vital aid, according to the UN humanitarian office (OCHA).

Women and girls are particularly vulnerable due to the increasingly restrictive policies that Taliban authorities have imposed, excluding them from education, the workforce and public life.

“Humanitarian aid is a lifeline for women and girls who are otherwise unable to access essential services and assistance,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, at Friday’s daily briefing in New York.

1.7 million returnees

OCHA also warned that the return of 1.7 million Afghan citizens from Iran and Pakistan this year has further increased humanitarian needs, as most have limited community ties and are struggling to find shelter and ways of making a living.

To support the response of the under-resourced host communities, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) recently released $10 million, and additional funding is in the pipeline from the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund.

But more resources are urgently needed. This year’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan in Afghanistan is just 25 per cent funded, with $624 million received of the $2.4 billion that are needed, and another influx of refugees is expected ahead of Pakistan’s 1 September deadline for Afghan Proof of Registration cardholders to exit.

Insecurity also rising in DR Congo’s restive east

In the war-torn eastern parts Democratic Republic of the Congo, OCHA says insecurity is on the rise in Djigu territory, in Ituri province.

Clashes between multiple armed groups and the Congolese armed forces in several areas has resulted in nearly 50 civilian deaths and more than 30 injuries in the past month alone there.

In the same period, violence and insecurity have led to the displacement of more than 80,000 people in Djugu.

In the attacks, homes were looted or burned, and those who fled are now sheltering in schools, churches and other public buildings.

Targeted killings

There have been three targeted attacks on sites hosting internally displaced people.

These clashes have severely limited humanitarian access, depriving around 250,000 people of essential services. In the Nizi health district in the Ituri territory, nine out of 12 health facilities are now out of service.

The UN and its humanitarian partners are ready to respond, but they need unimpeded, safe access to do so.

“All parties must take urgent measures to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access. Civilians must be protected at all times, in line with international law,” stressed Mr. Dujarric on Friday.

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‘Humanitarian work, a moral obligation’: Retired doctor returns to face the ‘silent threat’ in Gaza

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

After a successful career that lasted 43 years, during which he worked in Saudi Arabia, for the Palestinian Ministry of Health and then the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Dr. Awadallah decided to retire at the end of 2021.

But, that was short-lived. As the crisis in Gaza escalated and polio reappeared, he decided to return to the field. Doing so was not just a job assignment. As he describes it, it’s a “message of loyalty” to his profession, to the children of Gaza and to the institution that gave him so much.

Dr. Awadallah’s return was driven by a “deep inner sense of responsibility and belonging”.

“I felt that my long experience and field knowledge could make a difference in these critical times,” he told UN News.

‘The Silent Threat to Gaza’

Dr. Awadallah’s story was the focus of the film The Silent Threat to Gaza, produced by UNICEF in conjunction with World Humanitarian Day, observed annually on 19 August. The organization emphasises that the film is a powerful testament to the resilience of humanitarian workers who are facing the dangers of conflict.

Named in May on Time Magazine’s TIME100 Health List for leading “a heroic vaccination campaign” that reached 600,000 children in Gaza, Dr. Awadallah was one of the lead subjects of the 32-minute documentary. The film follows him and his colleague Fairuz Abu Warda, who, during short periods of last year’s ceasefire, delivered lifesaving vaccines to children across the Gaza Strip.

Watch the full document here:

UNICEF said their courage underscores a fundamental fact that when humanitarian principles are adhered to, workers are protected and given safe and timely access, lives can be saved even in the most fragile environments. The UN agency stressed that the courage of humanitarian workers, such as Dr. Awadallah and Ms. Warda, reinforces the urgent need for principled action and international accountability.

Dr. Awadallah told UN News how exhaustion, hunger and fear were part of their daily routine under constant bombardment from the air and sea.

However, their priority was to keep vaccinations effective and reach every child, he said, remembering the moments when he would see his colleagues collapse from exhaustion and then immediately return to work.

A living testimony to willpower

Dr. Awadallah points out that every scene in the vaccination campaign, from the smile of a child to the insistence of the teams to reach the farthest house despite the security difficulties and the danger of moving, reminded him that “humanitarian work cannot be retired.”

Children received the polio vaccine as part of a Gaza-wide campaign. (file)

“I provide humanitarian work, and even if I retire, it does not apply to humanitarian work,” he said.

“The Silent Threat to Gaza was not just a film or a depiction of events, but a living testimony to the strength of will and the power of hope.”

He believes that every shot in the film was “a message to the world that despite the wounds, despite the death and the difficulty of life, Gaza is able to rise up and protect its children”.

Despite the risks to their lives, Dr. Awadallah and his fellow humanitarian workers in Gaza continue their work under constant bombardment.

Protecting humanitarian workers is ‘not a luxury’

“Fear knows no way to their hearts,” he said. “We hear the explosion and then we go to do our work. We are moving towards our goal and we are used to it.”

He said more than 350 medical personnel have been killed, hundreds injured and more than 1,300 arrested.

He appealed to the world that the protection of those who lend a helping hand “is not a luxury, but a prerequisite for ensuring that life and hope reach those in need”, and that it is a “humanitarian duty” that is as important as the provision of assistance itself.

Dr. Younis Awadallah administers a polio vaccine in Gaza.

Spreading hope

After decades of experience, Dr. Awadallah said he has learned that human beings have an incredible resilience beyond imagination.

“Resilience is not the absence of pain and suffering, but the ability to persevere and rise despite tragedies,” he said. “I saw mothers smiling and laughing at their children despite the bleeding and pain. I saw patients facing the pain with a smile and hope.”

Their role as humanitarian workers goes beyond providing treatment and material assistance to include “promoting and instilling hope in people’s hearts, supporting them psychologically and maintaining their strength in the face of problems”, he said.

Not just a profession

On World Humanitarian Day, Dr. Awadallah pays tribute to all those who choose to walk towards danger rather than away from it.

I believe in this business

“We are throwing ourselves into perdition for the sake of others,” he said.

Humanitarian workers in Gaza and everywhere in the world – regardless of their specialties – “are witnesses that mercy knows no boundaries and that human solidarity can flourish even during wars or amid the rubble”, he added.

He said he hopes he would be able to reunite with his family soon.

“My message today is that humanitarian work is not just a profession, but a moral and humanitarian obligation. I left my family and haven’t seen them for two years because I believe in this business.”

Gaza: ‘No one should ever be forced to risk their life to find food,’ says UN humanitarian agency

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

The months-long deprivation of most life-sustaining basic goods has led to a deepening of the crisis. More than 100 people were killed, and hundreds of others injured, along food convoy routes and near Israeli-militarised distribution hubs in the past two days alone.

As one in three people currently going days without food, OCHA reiterated that no one should ever be forced to risk their life to get something to eat.

Ted Chaiban, Deputy Director of UN children’s agency UNICEF, who is fresh from a visit to Gaza, noted that “the marks of deep suffering and hunger were visible on the face of families and children.”

He was briefing journalists in New York about his five-day visit in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.

Grave risk of famine

“Gaza now faces a grave risk of famine,” he said, briefing journalists in New York about his five-day mission to the enclave, the West Bank and Israel.

“This is something that has been building up, but we now have two indicators that have exceeded the famine threshold.”

The crisis can only be addressed through unrestricted flow of aid into Gaza, with commercial supplies also allowed to enter to help address people’s needs.

Nearly a week since the Israeli announcement to allow the scale up of aid and tactical pauses to allow safe passage of UN convoys, OCHA reported that the aid that has entered Gaza so far remains insufficient, while UN convoys continue to face impediments and danger along the routes provided by the Israeli authorities.

“Civilians must always be protected and community-level aid delivery at scale must be facilitated, not obstructed,” said OCHA.

Starved, bombed and displaced

“The children I met are not victims of a natural disaster. They are being starved, bombed, and displaced,” Mr. Chaiban said. He noted that more than 18,000 boys and girls have been killed since the beginning of the war, “an average of 28 children a day, the size of a classroom, gone.”

While in Gaza, Mr. Chaiban met with the families of the 10 children killed and 19 injured by an Israeli airstrike as they were queuing for food with their mothers and fathers at a UNICEF-supported nutrition clinic in Deir Al-Balah.

Discussion with Israeli authorities

Engaging with Israeli authorities in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, UNICEF “pressed for a review of [Israel’s] military rules of engagement to protect civilians and children,” Mr. Chaiban said.

Simultaneously, UNICEF also called for more humanitarian aid and commercial traffic to come in to stabilise the situation and reduce the desperation of the population.

“Children should not be getting killed waiting in line at a nutrition centre or collecting water, and people should not be so desperate as to have to rush a convoy,” he said.

“What is happening on the ground is inhumane.” Mr. Chaiban said, hoping for a sustained ceasefire and a political way forward.

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Haitians in ‘despair’ following abrupt suspension of US humanitarian support

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

The cancellation of most US funding in January means many services to the most vulnerable people have been cut or put on hold.

Multiple political, security and socio-economic crises have led to 5.7 million people suffering from a lack of food and have forced 1.3 million people to flee their homes.

With a dramatic reduction in funding Haiti faces a crucial “turning point.”

UN News spoke to OCHA’s country director, Modibo Traore, about the current situation.

UN News: What is the current state of humanitarian funding in Haiti?

Humanitarian funding in Haiti is going through a critical phase, marked by a growing gap between the needs and available resources. As of 1 July, only around 8 per cent of the $908 million required had been mobilized.

This partial coverage only allows a fraction of the 3.6 million people targeted to be reached.

UN aid agencies continue to support Haitian people with humanitarian aid.

The sectors most affected are food security, access to drinking water, primary healthcare, education and protection.

This contraction in international support is part of a global context of multiple competing crises – Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan – but also reflects a loss of political interest in the Haitian issue.

UN News: What conditions in Haiti have led to such significant funding needs?

The growing humanitarian needs observed in Haiti are the result of an accumulation of structural and cyclical factors. On the socioeconomic front, multidimensional poverty affects a large part of the population.

Haiti’s exposure to natural hazards is an aggravating factor.

The country has experienced several major hurricanes that struck the southern region less than a week after an earthquake that severely affected the area, not to mention repeated droughts that have had a major impact on agriculture and livestock farming.

The downtown area of Port-au-Prince remains extremely dangerous due to gang activity.

Since 2019, a new dimension has emerged; chronic insecurity caused by the proliferation of armed groups, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and now in the Centre and Artibonite departments.

In 2024, the multidimensional crisis that has been shaking Haiti for years has become catastrophic.

The level of violence and insecurity remains high, with devastating consequences for the population, including massive displacement of people who were already in vulnerable situations.

UN News: How has the growing control of armed groups affected donor confidence?

The rise of armed groups in Haiti and their increasing control of strategic locations, particularly major roads and ports of entry to the capital, is a major obstacle to the safe and efficient delivery of humanitarian aid.

This dynamic has an impact on the risk perception of international donors, who now assess Haiti as a high-threat environment for intervention. Access to beneficiaries has become irregular in many areas.

The deterioration of the security situation represents a major challenge for mobilizing and maintaining financial commitments.

Donors have expressed concerns about operational risks, particularly regarding securing supply chains, preventing exploitation and ensuring accountability.

The operational cost of aid has also increased.

UN News: What is the impact of the new approach taken by the US administration?

On 20 January, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14169, which imposed an immediate suspension of all new foreign funding by US federal agencies, including humanitarian programs run by USAID and multilateral partners.

In the case of Haiti, the effects were felt through the sudden halt of approximately 80 per cent of US-funded programmes. NGO partner staff were laid off, payments were suspended, and supply chains were disrupted.

US food aid is prepared for delivery following floods in Haiti in 2022.

Beyond the structural effects, this suspension created profound uncertainty in the Haitian humanitarian system. This situation not only weakened the continuity of essential services but also affected trust between beneficiary communities and humanitarian actors.

UN News: To what extent is the current situation unprecedented?

The year 2025 marks a turning point in humanitarian aid in Haiti. This crisis is not the result of a single or isolated event, but rather a series of deteriorating situations in the context of gradually waning international attention.

The interruption of US programmes has acted as a catalyst for the crisis. USAID’s technical partners, many of whom managed community health programmes in vulnerable neighbourhoods, have ceased operations, depriving hundreds of thousands of people of vital services.

US-co-funded health centres have closed, leaving pregnant women and children without assistance.

The current crisis demonstrates the country’s growing isolation.

While previous crises had prompted rapid international solidarity, the humanitarian response to the situation in 2025 has been slow and partial.

UN News: What difficult decisions have had to be made regarding cutting aid?

The interruption of funding has forced humanitarian organizations to make ethically complex and often painful trade-offs.

In the area of protection, for example, safe spaces for women and girls have been drastically reduced.

The long-term development of Haiti is at risk as funding decreases.

Cash transfer programmes, widely used in urban areas since 2021, have also been suspended. These programmes enabled vulnerable households to maintain a minimum level of food security. Their suspension has led to a resurgence of coping mechanisms such as child labour, less food and children being taken out of school.

Resilience-building activities have also been affected. Programmes combining food security, urban agriculture, and access to water—often co-financed by USAID and UN funds—have been frozen.

This compromises not only the immediate response but also the development of medium-term solutions.

UN News: How are Haitians being affected?

Children are among the hardest hit. UNICEF and its partners have treated more than 4,600 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, representing only 3.6 per cent of the 129,000 children expected to need treatment this year.

The proportion of institutional maternal deaths has also increased from 250 to 350 per 100,000 live births between February 2022 and April 2025.

A survivor of rape rests at a site for internally displaced people in Port-au-Prince.

In terms of security, the effects are equally worrying. Gender-based sexual violence (GBV) has increased in neighbourhoods controlled by armed groups.

In short, the withdrawal of US funding has led to a multidimensional regression in the rights of women and girls in Haiti, with consequences that are likely to last for several years.

UN News: How have people in Haiti reacted?

Beneficiaries expressed a sense of despair at the sudden suspension of the services.

In working-class neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince as well as in remote rural areas, the cessation of food distributions, community healthcare, and cash transfers was experienced as a breach of the moral contract between communities and humanitarian institutions.

Humanitarian partners communicate transparently about the reduction of support, so communities are, to some extent, aware of the financial constraints.

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UN warns of ‘catastrophic hunger’ in Gaza as Israel announces humanitarian pauses

Posted on July 28, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

But as starvation tightens its grip and “children are dying before our eyes,” UN officials and aid workers warn that the measures fall far short of the much-needed ceasefire and unfettered aid access that could help stem the spiralling humanitarian catastrophe.

“Welcome announcement of humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow our aid through,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said on X. “In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window.”

Also reacting via the platform, UNICEF said: “This is an opportunity to begin to reverse this catastrophe and save lives.”

According to the agency, since the collapse of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in March, children have been trapped in a nightmare and deprived of the basics to survive.

“The entire population of over two million people in Gaza is severely food insecure. One out of every three people has not eaten for days, and 80 per cent of all reported deaths by starvation are children,” the agency continued.

UNICEF emphasized that while it has never stopped delivering, “we can do a lot more if additional designated humanitarian corridors are created to facilitate the movement of our convoys – as well as commercial trucks, which are essential.”

‘A lifeline – if upheld and expanded’

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) also welcomed Israel’s announcement and its intent to open designated corridors for aid convoys in Gaza, “where hunger has reached catastrophic levels.”

With nearly half a million people facing famine-like conditions and a third of the population going days without food, WFP said in a press statement that the measures could offer a lifeline – if upheld and expanded.

Despite recent deliveries, including 350 truckloads last week, aid workers continue to face extreme risks and logistical hurdles. WFP said it has enough food stockpiled or en route to feed Gaza’s 2.1 million residents for three months, but without a ceasefire and consistent access, the scale of need far outpaces current efforts.

“An agreed ceasefire is the only way to reach everyone,” the agency stressed, calling for predictable and safe conditions to prevent further loss of life.

‘An entirely preventable crisis’

At the same time, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned that malnutrition in Gaza is spiralling out of control, with a sharp rise in deaths – most of them in July – marking what it calls a “dangerous trajectory.”

Of the 74 malnutrition-related deaths recorded this year, 63 occurred this month alone, including 24 children under five. Many died before reaching medical care, their bodies showing signs of severe wasting.

“This crisis is entirely preventable,” WHO said in a press release, citing the deliberate obstruction of aid for the mounting toll.

Children are bearing the brunt. Over 5,000 children have already been treated for malnutrition in July, many with the most life-threatening form. But Gaza’s four specialized treatment centers are overwhelmed, running low on fuel and supplies, and staffed by exhausted health workers.

“The health system is on the brink,” WHO warned, as disease spreads rapidly through communities with no clean water or sanitation.

The crisis is also devastating pregnant and breastfeeding women, over 40 per cent of whom are now severely malnourished. And it’s not just hunger that’s killing people—it’s the desperate search for food, according to WHO.

Since late May, more than 1,000 people have been killed and over 7,000 injured while trying to access aid. WHO is calling for an immediate ceasefire and a sustained surge of diverse, nutritious food and medical supplies.

“This flow must remain consistent and unhindered,” the agency said, urging protection for civilians, health workers, and humanitarian operations.

‘The world will judge this conference’

Looking ahead to the High-Level Conference on Palestine set to open on Monday at UN Headquarters in New York, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a strong call for immediate action to end Israel’s unlawful occupation and the ongoing devastation in Gaza.

“Countries that fail to use their leverage may be complicit in international crimes,” Volker Türk warned in a statement, urging governments to seize the moment for concrete measures that pressure Israel to halt the carnage and recommit to a two-state solution.

The UN rights chief described Gaza as a “dystopian landscape of deadly attacks and total destruction,” where children are starving and families are being killed in their search for food. The militarized aid distribution system, supported by the US and Israel, is failing to meet the scale of need.

“We can never forget that more than 300 of our own colleagues have been killed,” he added.

Moreover, in the occupied West Bank, violence by Israeli forces and settlers continues unabated, with homes demolished and water supplies cut off.

Mr. Türk reiterated condemnation of the 7 October attacks by Hamas but emphasized that the scale of suffering inflicted on Palestinians since then cannot be justified.

Calling for an immediate, permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages and detainees, and a massive surge in humanitarian aid, he concluded:

“The people of the world will judge this Conference on what it delivers.”

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World News in Brief: Thailand-Cambodia border hostilities, humanitarian efforts in Syria and attacks across Ukraine

Posted on July 25, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

The dispute dates to 1953 when France first mapped the border, but tensions resurfaced in May after the death of a Cambodian soldier in a border skirmish.

Secretary-General António Guterres is “following with concern” reports of the clashes, his Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists in New York.

“The Secretary-General urges both sides to exercise maximum restraint and address any issues through dialogue and in a spirit of good neighbourliness, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the dispute,” he said.

Inter-agency humanitarian assistance in Syria

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) led an inter-agency visit to Rural Damascus governorate in Syria on Thursday to assess needs and provide assistance to more than 500 families displaced by recent violence in nearby Sweida governorate.

The UN agencies visited the Sayyeda Zeinab community and plan to visit the neighbouring Dar’a Governorate in the coming days, where humanitarians are supporting tens of thousands of people displaced by violence.

In Rural Damascus and Dar’a, OCHA and its partners are expanding protection services for displaced people. This includes psychosocial first aid and case management support for children.

Also on Thursday, the World Food Programme (WFP) distributed urgent food assistance to displaced families. The agency additionally continues to provide assistance across the country, including to Syrians returning home after a decade of conflict.

Limited access to Sweida

On Wednesday, a second convoy from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) arrived in Sweida, with UN agencies providing support.

The convoy included food, wheat flour, fuel, medicines and health supplies. Medical supplies were delivered to the Sweida national hospital, and wheat flour was dispatched to bakeries.

Across Sweida, Rural Damascus and Dar’a governorates, the UN has distributed over 1,600 dignity kits to displaced women and girls. UN partners are also providing recreational activities, awareness sessions on gender-based violence and support for women and children.

But despite efforts in neighbouring governorates and increasing support in Sweida, full and direct access to the conflict-ridden governorate itself is limited due to security constraints.

Nonetheless, the UN is continuing dialogue with Syrian authorities to facilitate direct access to Sweida.

Nationwide attacks in Ukraine

OCHA further reported that at least five civilians were killed, and 46 others injured, in attacks across several regions of Ukraine over the past two days.

Kharkiv in the northeast was one of the more affected regions, where a glide bomb strike injured at least 16 people on Thursday, and fighting killed three and injured five others on Wednesday.

Additionally, overnight attacks in central Ukraine injured seven people in Cherkasy and four in Odesa City, damaging homes, health centres, schools, shopping areas and a market.

Civilians in the southern Kherson region, the eastern Donetsk region and the southeast Zaporizhzhia region were also affected.

Evacuations and humanitarian response

Following the overnight attacks in Cherkasy and Odesa, aid workers assisted first responders by providing first aid, meals, shelter materials, hygiene kits, emotional support and legal assistance to affected families.

Amid the hostilities, nearly 600 people were evacuated from the Donetsk region, and, in the past day, another 24 were evacuated from the northeastern region of Sumy.

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

Posted on July 24, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

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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Sudan: UN scales up response plan as humanitarian needs spiral in Tawila

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

Over 380,000 people are currently displaced there, and the plan aims at increasing assistance for communities over the next three months.

It focuses on food, healthcare, water, sanitation, shelter and protection, and requires $120 million for implementation, according to the UN Office for Humanitarian Coordination (OCHA).

Spread of diseases

The health situation in North Darfur has also been deteriorating, with humanitarian partners on the ground warning that cholera, measles, malaria and trauma cases are surging in El Fasher and other displacement camps in the region.

As insecurity has forced the over 32 health facilities in the region to close, the lack of rapid diagnostic tests and the widespread Internet outage in the El Fasher area are also severely hindering disease surveillance.

Critical shortages of surgical supplies, essential medicines and vaccines are “pushing the health system to the brink, leaving thousands without access to the care that they need to stay alive,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during his daily press briefing from New York.

Deadly civilian toll

Displacement continues to take a deadly toll on civilians seeking safety, with markets in South Darfur reeling from sharp price increases due to flooding and seasonal rivers cutting off supply routes from Chad and Northern State.

Meanwhile, the UN remains “deeply concerned over escalating violence in the Kordofan region,” Mr. Dujarric said, after five civilians were reportedly killed and several others injured in drone strikes on fuel markets in Al Fula and Abu Zabad towns in West Kordofan state.

The UN called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel, unimpeded access across conflict lines and borders, and increased international support to address the spiraling humanitarian needs across Sudan.

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Gaza: Guterres condemns killing of people seeking food as humanitarian conditions deteriorate

Posted on July 22, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

Stéphane Dujarric was speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York a day after dozens of Palestinians were killed seeking food aid.

He said the Secretary-General deplored the growing reports of both children and adults suffering from malnutrition and strongly condemned the ongoing violence, including the shooting, killing and injuring of people attempting to get food.

Not a target

“Civilians must be protected and respected, and they must never be targeted,” said Mr. Dujarric, noting that the population in Gaza remains gravely undersupplied with the basic necessities of life.

He stressed that “Israel has the obligation to allow and facilitate by all the means at its disposal the humanitarian relief provided by the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations.”

Mr. Dujarric said the Secretary-General noted that the recent intensification of hostilities comes as the humanitarian system in Gaza is being impeded, undermined and endangered.

New evacuation orders

He pointed to a new evacuation order issued for parts of Deir Al-Balah, which is pushing people into more desperate conditions and sparking further displacement, while restricting the UN’s ability to deliver aid.

He reported that two UN guesthouses in Deir Al-Balah were struck, despite the parties being informed about their locations.

“They suffered damage,” he said, responding a reporter’s question. “The UN staff inside was, to say the least, rattled.”

Mr. Dujarric underscored that the UN intends to remain in Deir Al-Balah.

 Ceasefire now

The Secretary-General reiterated his urgent call for the protection of civilians, including humanitarian personnel, and for the provision of essential resources to ensure their survival.

He once again called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

Mr. Dujarric said the UN stands ready to significantly scale up its humanitarian operations in Gaza, adding “the time for a ceasefire is now.”

People dying from malnutrition

Amid the ongoing shelling, displacement and destruction in Gaza, humanitarians continue to receive reports of severely malnourished people arriving at medical points and hospitals in extremely poor health.

More than a dozen people, including children, have reportedly died from hunger in the last 24 hours, according to the Gaza health agencies.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recalled that roughly 88 per cent of Gaza is now under displacement orders or within displacement zones.

Shelter and fuel

Gaza’s population is some 2.1 million and about 1.35 million need shelter and household items. However, no shelter supplies have been allowed to enter for more than four months. 

The dire fuel crisis also continues, with humanitarians continuing to warn that the limited quantities that have been allowed to enter in recent days are hardly sufficient.

Traditional aid systems critical: UN official

Meanwhile the new UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ramiz Alakbarov, has met with the Prime Minister of the State of Palestine, Mohammad Mustafa, in Ramallah.

At a press conference, Dr. Alakbarov called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the unconditional release of the hostages, and the lifting of all restrictions on access to people in Gaza.        

He said to address immediate needs, humanitarian organizations must be able to use the traditional systems of aid delivery.

He noted that these systems are currently undermined by violence, including armed looting and recurrent shootings at civilians seeking aid. which he said must be independently investigated.  

Sudan: Humanitarian needs deepen amid rising hostilities and heavy rains

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

Nearly 27 months have passed since fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and a former ally, the paramilitary Rapid Security Forces (RSF), creating an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

The UN voiced grave alarm over escalating hostilities in El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur state.

Serious risk of renewed violence

Large numbers of RSF fighters reportedly entered the city on Friday for the first time since the siege began over a year ago.

Local sources report that recent fierce fighting, particularly in the southwest and east of El Fasher, has led to civilian casualties.

“The situation remains highly volatile and unpredictable, with a serious risk of renewed violence, as well as further displacement and disruption of humanitarian operations – which are already under severe strain,” OCHA said.

Insecurity in North Kordofan state

Meanwhile, in North Kordofan State, growing insecurity forced 3,400 people to flee their homes over the weekend, according to the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Local reports indicate that at least 18 civilians were killed, and homes were burned in several villages.

OCHA reminded all parties that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law, and that civilians must be protected at all times.

Rainy season constraints

Meanwhile, heavy rains have been reported in West and Central Darfur states, which may affect road conditions in some locations and worsen the challenges humanitarians are already facing in accessing people in need.

“With the rainy season continuing through October, the risk of floods, access constraints and disease outbreaks is growing – especially during this critical lean season, a time between harvests when food stocks traditionally run low,” OCHA warned.

Families return to West Darfur

The agency said that despite the crisis, signs of small-scale returns are visible in West Darfur state, where displaced families have been returning from Chad to three localities – Sirba, Jebel Moon and Kulbus – to cultivate their farms.

Furthermore, local authorities report about 40 people returning daily to Kulbus, with 300 arriving over the past week.

OCHA urged all parties to enable safe and unimpeded access to all people in need across Sudan, and for donors to step up their support.

Some 30 million people nationwide – more than half the population – need vital aid and protection this year.

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UN warns of worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan as displacement, hunger and disease escalate

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

The situation is particularly dire in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, which has witnessed some of the worst episodes of the ongoing conflict between rival militaries.

Those remaining in El Fasher are facing “extreme shortages” of food and clean water, with markets repeatedly disrupted, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at the regular news briefing in New York.

Across the city, nearly 40 per cent of children under five are suffering from acute malnutrition, including 11 per cent with severe acute malnutrition.

Most of the surrounding water infrastructure has also been destroyed or rendered non-functional due to minimal maintenance and fuel shortages, Mr. Dujarric added.

El Fasher displacement

Since April 2023, an estimated 780,000 people have been displaced from El Fasher town and the nearby Zamzam displacement camps, including nearly 500,000 in April and May of this year.

Famine conditions have been confirmed in the area since last August.

About three-quarters of Zamzam camp’s residents fled to various locations across Tawila, where the UN and its partners have scaled up critical humanitarian assistance.

Cholera outbreak continues

Mr. Dujarric further warned that the breakdown of water and sanitation services, combined with low vaccination coverage, has sharply increased the risk of disease outbreaks, including cholera.

So far this year, Sudan has reported more than 32,000 suspected cholera cases.

According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) cholera cases continue to rise across Darfur, with over 300 suspected cases and more than two dozen deaths reported in South Darfur state last week alone.

“Conflict and collapsing infrastructure continue to drive the spread of the disease and impede response efforts,” Mr. Dujarric stressed.

Unprecedented and complex crisis

Since war erupted between the former allies-turned-rivals, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and more than 12 million forced to flee their homes – including approximately four million as refugees in neighbouring countries.

The crisis is unfolding against a backdrop of extreme vulnerability, as the country remains highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and disasters.

From severe droughts to deadly floods, the compounded effects of conflict and environmental instability are pushing communities to the brink, leaving them struggling to survive. Famine has already been declared in some parts of the country, putting millions of lives at risk.

Lack of resources hamstring response

Despite growing needs, the $4.2 billion humanitarian response plan for 2025, which aims to assist around 21 million of the most vulnerable people, remains only 21 per cent funded, having received $896 million so far.

Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, underscored the gravity of the situation in El Fasher.

Civilians in the area remain cut off from aid and face the risk of starvation, he said in a post on social media.

Appealing for an urgent humanitarian pause, he warned that “every day without access costs lives.”

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Guterres calls for immediate Gaza ceasefire as humanitarian crisis reaches ‘horrific proportions’

Posted on June 28, 2025 by Arun Kumar N

Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters ahead of his departure to Spain for the International Conference on Financing for Development, the Secretary-General said that while the Israel-Iran conflict had dominated recent headlines, the plight of civilians in Gaza remained urgent and dire.

“Families have been displaced again and again – and are now confined to less than one-fifth of Gaza’s land,” he said.

“Even these shrinking spaces are under threat. Bombs are falling – on tents, on families, on those with nowhere left to run.”

Search for food must never be a death sentence

Mr. Guterres described the situation as the most severe since the onset of the war, citing acute shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.

“The search for food must never be a death sentence,” he said, highlighting the danger faced by Palestinians simply trying to survive.

He has repeatedly called for three urgent steps: an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and full, unimpeded humanitarian access.

On Friday, he again pressed for these demands, emphasising that aid workers are starving, hospitals are rationing life-saving supplies and civilians are trapped in unsafe zones.

Surge in aid urgently needed

“What’s needed now is a surge – the trickle must become an ocean,” he said.

The UN chief stressed that Israel, as the occupying power, is legally obliged to facilitate humanitarian relief.

“To those in power, I say: enable our operations as international humanitarian law demands. To those with influence, I say: use it,” he added.

Earlier this week, a small convoy of UN medical supplies entered Gaza for the first time in months, Mr. Guterres noted, adding that it only underscored the overwhelming scale of the need.

He also also cautioned that any aid delivery method must ensure civilian safety, stressing that “operations which place desperate people in or near militarized areas are inherently unsafe.”

“We have the solution – a detailed plan grounded in the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence,” he said.

“It worked during the last ceasefire. So it must be allowed to work again.”

Two-State solution critical

Mr. Guterres concluded with a broader political appeal:

“The only sustainable path to re-establishing hope is by paving the way to the two-State solution. Diplomacy and human dignity for all must prevail.”

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