News Monitor

Last year saw the highest number of state-based conflicts since 1946. In addition, the past three years were the most violent in the last three decades, according to PRIO.

Alarmed by Moscow’s increased attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and population, speakers call for diplomacy, de- escalation ahead of peace summit in Switzerland.

The war has caused unprecedented devastation to the Palestinian labour market and the wider economy, according to new data and analysis by the ILO and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

The long-term impacts of COVID-19 on child diet quality are still being seen, with the addition of multiple health outbreaks, including cholera, impacts of the climate crisis, and rising food prices.

In Central Sahel countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, more than 3.3 million people are forcibly displaced due to relentless conflict, exacerbated by the worsening effects of the climate crisis.

Rampant insecurity and food insufficiency afflict Cameroon amid an ongoing refugee crisis from neighbouring Central African Republic; however, these emergencies are off the world's radar.

The agency is scaling up to provide life-saving food aid to another five million people by year-end. Hunger is deepening in Sudan and in neighbouring countries to which millions of people have fled.

Aid partners need $4.7 billion in 2024 to meet the urgent needs of 20.9 million people in Burkina Faso, Cameroon’s Far North Region, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria’s Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

Roughly 70% of those displaced are now trying to survive in places that are at risk of famine. The upcoming rainy season will complicate humanitarian access and may lead to climate disasters and disease.

In addition to health risks, high temperatures can expose children to dangers. Families displaced due to water scarcity end up in shelters, making children vulnerable to child labour and trafficking.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, it is likely that at least one of these years will set a new temperature record, beating 2023 which is currently the warmest year.

This marks an increase of 20% - equivalent to half a million refugees - compared with 2024, driven by the prolongation of mass displacement situations, new conflicts and the impacts of climate change.

"We need to ... shift from responding to crises after they occur to more proactive approaches, prevention and resilience building to help vulnerable communities cope with upcoming shocks" - FAO chief.

More than 30 million people across southern Africa have been affected by a severe drought. Millions could be pushed into acute hunger unless support is urgently mobilized, warned the UN and partners.

"I am deeply shocked by Sunday’s forced eviction of about 6,000 IDPs," said NRC's Turner, urging authorities to immediately halt evictions until longer-term solutions for relocation are identified.

After more than two months of blockages due to violent clashes between armed groups, WFP has made important progress, delivering truckloads of food to the highly vulnerable neighbourhood.

“Thousands of families now shelter in damaged and destroyed facilities in Khan Younis, where UNRWA keeps providing essential services, despite increasing challenges. Conditions are unspeakable.”