Following two years of war, most of Gaza’s roughly two million residents are living in makeshift shelters. Humanitarians are working to deliver assistance to communities in flood-prone areas, including by scaling up distribution of winter clothes for children from 5,000 kits a day to 8,000. UN partners leading winter preparedness efforts reported that some 200 families have left shoreline communities for a new site identified by...
This is the immediate priority of the $33 billion Global Humanitarian Overview 2026, launched on Monday, which aims to reach 135 million people overall in 50 countries. “This appeal sets out where we need to focus our collective energy first: life by life,” said UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher. Millions in need The updated GHO follows a year marked...
“I can tell you that the Secretary-General is aware that today, the Security Council received this joint letter from the three countries,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists. The three European nations were signatories to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement that granted Iran sanctions relief...
“We have been forced into a triage of human survival,” said Mr. Fletcher. “The math is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking. Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given.” New priorities...
Since the beginning of the year, Rwanda-backed M23 fighters have swept across eastern DRC, taking key cities including Goma and Bukavu. The violence has displaced more than one million people in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. Speaking from the village of Sake in North Kivu, UNDP Resident Representative...
As fighting escalates in eastern DRC, more than 40,000 Congolese refugees – primarily women and children – have crossed into Burundi since February, with over 9,000 arrivals recorded in a single day this week. Many are using makeshift boats to traverse the Rusizi River, a perilous crossing at the border...
“Civilians [are] paying the highest price, shelling, airstrikes [are] continuing unabated, killing and injuring civilians, damaging and destroying critical infrastructure, including hospitals,” said Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher. “An epidemic of sexual violence rages,” he warned, adding that children are being killed and injured, amid reports of intensifying fighting in South Kordofan in...
“The health system is ruined. Malnutrition is rising. The risk of famine persists,” said Dr Hanan Balkhy, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. “We are ready to scale up our response – but we urgently need systematic and sustained access to the population across...
Health authorities in Kampala confirmed that one patient has died – a nurse who had sought treatment at various other medical facilities after developing fever-like symptoms. In response to the outbreak of the often deadly and infectious haemorrhagic fever which is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and tissue, WHO...
In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for $1.5 billion through its 2025 Health Emergency Appeal, to deliver life-saving health interventions worldwide. The appeal, unveiled on Thursday by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, outlines the urgent priorities for addressing 42 ongoing health emergencies, including 17 requiring immediate and coordinated action....
Muhannad Hadi, who is also the Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, made the appeal during a visit to Gaza City, where he met with representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The senior official also visited Holy Family Church, where he recorded a video message on the church...
Announced at the Grand Serail in Beirut by Deputy Prime Minister Saade el-Shami and UN Humanitarian Coordinator Imran Riza, the appeal extends emergency efforts through March 2025. It builds on the original Flash Appeal launched in October 2024, following the largest escalation of conflict since the 2006 Lebanon War. This extension...
