“I stand in full solidarity with the people of Afghanistan after the devastating earthquake that hit the country earlier today,” the Secretary-General said in an online message. “I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured. The @UN team in...
Attacks against health facilities doubled between 2023 and 2024, and more than 900 health workers were killed last year, the agency reported. Humanitarian aid workers were also killed in record numbers in 2024. Yet, 2025 is outpacing even these dark statistics at a time when funding for humanitarian work is...
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...
“The risk of starvation is everywhere in Gaza,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva. “This is a direct result of the Israeli government’s policy of blocking humanitarian aid,” he said. Mr. Al-Kheetan insisted that in the past few weeks, Israeli authorities have only allowed aid...
Ahead of donning a beige WFP vest and boots to face hurricanes, wars and refugee camps, the Portuguese scientist worked with satellite imagery and cartography, creating maps to support humanitarian missions, until he realised he didn’t want to stay behind a computer screen. On the occasion of World Humanitarian Day,...
In an alert from the World Food Programme (WFP), the agency said that half a million people “are on the brink of famine”, a claim backed up by multiple humanitarian agencies. The latest worrying data is showing widespread acute malnutrition. A ceasefire is the only way to scale up aid deliveries, the...
Sudan is one of the world’s largest and most complex humanitarian crises, with more than 30.4 million people – over half the population – urgently needing humanitarian assistance, yet the 2025 Sudan humanitarian needs and response plan is severely underfunded, with only 13.3 per cent of the required resources received...
But for an increasing number of Palestinians, including those who cannot hear the orders or whose mobility is impaired, following these orders may be impossible. Yet, failure to do so, could cost them their lives. “In a normal situation, people with disabilities suffer the most. And in wartime, of...
In his regular daily briefing, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric highlighted that ongoing delays, bottlenecks at holding points and interference in the loading process at crossing platforms are undermining efforts to collect and distribute supplies to those in need. “It is imperative that the UN and its humanitarian partners are enabled...
The 19 July truce followed weeks of sectarian clashes, Israeli airstrikes and grave human rights violations in the southern governorate, also known as As-Sweida. As a result, more than 190,000 people have been displaced there and in neighbouring Dar’a and Rural Damascus governorates. The fighting also caused severe damage to...
Meanwhile, on Thursday and again on Saturday, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants published disturbing videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages, sparking worldwide outrage and condemnation from UN leaders, including Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday. The hostages pictured, Rom Braslavsk and Evyatar David, are two of the 49 are still...
The displacement is the latest consequence of a cascade of overlapping emergencies in the country – including armed violence, climate shocks, disease outbreaks and a severe funding shortfall. Since January, over 95,000 people have fled insecurity in Cabo Delgado and humanitarian access is becoming increasingly fragile. According to the UN...