Famine

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that people are fleeing their homes in several parts of northern Ethiopia as humanitarian operations continue amid ongoing insecurity. Thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are currently seeking refuge in Debre Berhan, a city in the Amhara Region, and in Shire, a town in northwestern Tigray.

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.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is urgently appealing for funds to provide life-saving food assistance to two million people in Malawi who are facing the devastating effects of drought. Today's appeal comes just days after Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera declared a state of disaster.  Malawi, like other countries in Southern Africa, is grappling with the effects of a severe period of dry weather, exacerbated by the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

The situation for civilians in the Gaza Strip is getting worse by the day. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that food stocks and other essential supplies in Gaza are largely depleted or have run out, and the situation is desperate as no humanitarian or commercial supplies have entered the territory for more than eight weeks. In addition, escalating Israeli attacks, movement restrictions and the expansion of military zones have made humanitarian operations nearly impossible, putting civilians and aid workers at extreme risk.

According to the United Nations, tens of thousands of people have fled the town of Baidoa in southern Somalia following recent clashes linked to disputed regional elections, triggering a surge in displacement and exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation. On Monday, the European Union’s humanitarian office (ECHO) reported that the risk of armed confrontation in Baidoa due to escalating political tensions is “very high.”

United Nations human rights chief Voker Türk has expressed dismay at the extent to which warring parties in many settings have overstepped the bounds of what is acceptable and legal, "trampling human rights at their core." Moreover, data collected by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) shows that the number of civilian deaths in armed conflicts skyrocketed by 72 percent in 2023 compared to 2022.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says it is gravely concerned at the latest developments in Sudan as fighting escalates in the Darfur region. UNHCR warned Friday it was receiving deeply alarming reports of continued sexual violence, torture, arbitrary killings, extortion of civilians and targeting of specific ethnic groups in the region. 

Amid growing hopes for a Gaza ceasefire and an end to the war, United Nations humanitarian officials revealed disturbing details on Friday about the ongoing killing and injuring of Palestinians desperately seeking food. Israeli forces continue to target and kill people attempting to access food supplies at militarized distribution centers, UN distribution sites, and near aid convoys.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the humanitarian situation in South Sudan's Jonglei State is deteriorating rapidly due to escalating conflict. This conflict is forcing people to flee their homes and shrinking access for aid workers. Since the end of December, renewed clashes in Jonglei have displaced more than 250,000 people, according to local authorities.

Ten days after the deadly earthquake struck Colombia, the United Nations and its partners launched their humanitarian response appeal on Friday. According to Colombian authorities, at least 319 people have been killed and more than 280,000 people have been affected overall. The 7.4-magnitude earthquake destroyed over 31,000 homes and damaged thousands of educational, community, and health facilities.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), alongside 64 humanitarian and national civil society organizations, has appealed Monday for US$1 billion to provide essential humanitarian aid and protection to over 1.8 million people expected to arrive in five neighboring countries by the end of 2023, fleeing ongoing conflict in Sudan. One million refugees, returnees and foreign nationals have already crossed borders into the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Friday that additional aid is continuing to arrive in northern Ethiopia. Food assistance is reaching tens of thousands of people affected by the conflict and the impacts of El Niño across the northern regions. However, the ongoing response is not keeping up with the growing humanitarian needs, making additional resources and sustained access essential.

Humanitarian organizations are warning that the increased use of drones and airstrikes in northern Ethiopia is endangering civilians, critical infrastructure, and humanitarian operations. They are closely monitoring the rapidly evolving situation in the Tigray, Amhara, and Afar regions as large-scale conflict between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) has resumed.

Widespread attacks on civilians continue across South Sudan, driven primarily by subnational armed violence involving community-based militias and civil defense groups, according to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Its latest quarterly report, released on Wednesday, comes as the country faces an underfunded humanitarian response, an influx of new arrivals due to the war in neighboring Sudan, as well as looming flooding and an economic crisis.

The trauma of mass displacement and humanitarian supply chain disruptions throughout the world are among the devastating impacts of the war in Iran and the wider Middle East, UN humanitarian officials warned on Tuesday. As the conflict shows no signs of easing, the breakdown of supply networks is worsening global hunger, putting up to 45 million additional people at risk and pushing already vulnerable communities closer to catastrophe.

Donors committed US$610.1 million to humanitarian operations in Ethiopia at a high-level pledging event on Tuesday, but fell short of the target. One billion US dollars is needed to fund the immediate response and ensure a pipeline of aid for the next five months. But before the conference, the situation was much worse, as the country's UN-backed $3.24 billion Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for 2024 was less than 5 percent funded.