Climate Change

Wrapping up her five-day visit to the Central African Republic (CAR), UN Deputy Relief Chief Joyce Msuya said on Friday that the country stands at a crossroads and urged global solidarity with those in need. She stressed that this is the moment to transform fragile stability into lasting progress by working together across humanitarian, development, and peace efforts.

Armed groups have killed at least 160 people in central Nigeria over the weekend in a series of attacks on villages, according to media reports. Media outlets reported that bandit groups launched well-coordinated attacks that started in the night of Saturday and continued into Monday against at least 20 different communities in Plateau State, injuring more than 300 people.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director, David Beasley, has appealed to the world to invest in the Syrian people and communities to get them on their feet and off food assistance. During a visit to Syria on Friday, Beasley said that 12 million people in the country do not know where their next meal is coming from, while an additional 2.9 million are at risk of sliding into hunger.

The United States has committed to providing an additional US$116 million in aid to people impacted by humanitarian crises in Myanmar, Bangladesh and the surrounding region, including more than US$74 million to support Rohingya refugees and their host communities. The pledge comes at a time when a steep decline in funds has forced humanitarian agencies to focus on the most critical and life-saving needs. This funding crush has led to worsening humanitarian conditions in the world’s largest refugee settlement.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warns that urgent action is needed to save lives in Nigeria, where the malnutrition crisis is escalating. Without immediate intervention, 1.8 million children could die from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The Nigeria Red Cross Society (NRCS) reports that 84 percent of healthcare facilities in six northern states have insufficient supplies of lifesaving ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF).

According to a joint report released on Tuesday by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) remains out of reach for billions of people worldwide. Despite improvements over the last decade, 2.1 billion people globally lack access to safely managed drinking water, which puts them at risk of disease and deeper social exclusion.

Severe humanitarian funding shortfalls have cut off hundreds of thousands of Somalis from safe water supplies in recent months, putting entire communities at heightened risk of deadly disease outbreaks, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned on Monday. Meanwhile, the United Nations reported that the ongoing severe drought in northern Somalia has affected an estimated 2.5 million people across 26 districts.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a stark warning for global food security, estimating that every one percent cut in food assistance risks pushing more than 400,000 people towards the brink of starvation. Tuesday’s warning comes as WFP, the biggest recipient of humanitarian funding, is in the midst of a crippling financing crisis that is forcing the organization to scale back life-saving assistance at a time when acute hunger globally reached record levels. 

According to media reports, around 200 people were killed and another 140 injured in an attack by the armed group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) in the Burkinabe town of Barsalogho over the weekend. The horrific assault comes as large parts of Burkina Faso are controlled by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and more than 1 million people are trapped in dozens of blockaded towns across the central Sahel country.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is warning of a rapidly escalating global hunger crisis, as nearly 318 million people are currently facing crisis levels of hunger or worse. On Monday, WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain called for immediate action from world leaders to address the root causes of food insecurity and end man-made famines.

While South Sudan anticipates holding its first elections in December 2024, key institutions and legal frameworks are yet to be established, and critical questions remain unanswered, the top United Nations official for the country told the UN Security Council Friday. At the briefing, speakers warned that intercommunal violence and a massive influx of returnees and refugees continue to worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in the country.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday called on countries to prioritize life-saving measures as hundreds of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have sought safety in the region in the first five days of the new year. In 2024, more than 7,800 Rohingya attempted to flee the country by boat. More than 650 died or were reported missing.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the sudden escalation of hostilities in Alamata town and surrounding rural towns in northern Ethiopia since mid-April has displaced about 50,000 civilians - the majority of whom are women, children and the elderly - to neighboring Kobo district in North Wello zone and Sekota town in Wag Hamra zone. An undetermined number of casualties were reported in the fighting.

United Nations human rights experts have warned Thursday about catastrophic consequences for Myanmar Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh if life-saving food aid is slashed, and issued an urgent plea for donations to the Rohingya Refugee Response. The warning comes as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced this week it will have to cut food assistance to Rohingya refugees for the first time since they fled Myanmar six years ago.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says a funding shortfall has forced it to cut by one-half food rations for more than 50,000 people in Malawi at the country's only refugee camp. The food cuts come at a time when refugees at the Dzaleka camp, who are mainly from the Great Lakes region, are already facing deteriorating food security.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warn that acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in 18 hunger hotspots – comprising a total of 22 countries or territories including two regions – during the period from November 2023 to April 2024.

South Sudanese farmers who have relied on United Nations agencies operating in the country say they fear losing a ready market for their produce if the UN follows through on its threat to scale down operations in the world's newest nation. This comes after the United States, the European Union and other countries expressed concern over Juba's decision to impose taxes on some goods purchased by the UN.

With no political solution in sight, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warns that Niger’s political crisis could rapidly deteriorate into a humanitarian emergency as attacks by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) continue and sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the country begin to take effect. Meanwhile, 45 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), working in the Sahel country, are calling on the international community to introduce humanitarian exemptions to the collective sanctions imposed against Niger.

A devastating earthquake hit Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan on Sunday, near the Pakistan border. The 6.0-magnitude quake, whose epicenter was located in Kama district, caused widespread destruction and loss of life. According to preliminary reports, at least 800 people have been killed and more than 2,800 injured across four provinces: Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, and Nuristan.