Food Insecurity

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the UN and its humanitarian partners are continuing to deliver aid in southern Syria amid a volatile security situation and limited funding. OCHA states that the security situation in southern Syria remains unpredictable, with ongoing incidents contributing to rural instability.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that aid shortages are taking a growing toll on Somalia's most vulnerable people, leaving them without access to vital healthcare, nutritional support, and safe water. The brutal funding cuts are devastating for severely malnourished children, who have already lost or will soon lose access to life-saving treatment.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has voiced alarm over the escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo), which has already displaced 237,000 people this year. Clashes between non-state armed groups and the Congolese army in North and South Kivu provinces are exacerbating one of the world's most under-reported humanitarian crises, characterized by widespread human rights violations and massive forced displacement.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warns violence against children in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) has reached unprecedented levels.  In a media briefing Friday, a UNICEF representative said there “are few worse places, if any, to be a child”, as more than 2.8 million girls and boys are bearing the brunt of the crisis in the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu.

Amid the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Sudan, the heads of over 50 human rights and humanitarian organizations have sounded the alarm and called for more aid, solidarity and attention to the Sudan Crisis. In an open letter published Wednesday, the leaders of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also urged the United Nations Security Council (UN SC) to act. Meanwhile, the UN SC heard briefings on the ongoing atrocities in the country and those responsible for committing them.

According to new data published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 1.3 million people are now internally displaced in Haiti, which is a 24 percent increase since December 2024. With this surge, Haiti has the highest number of people ever displaced by violence, and internally displaced people (IDPs) now represent 11 percent of the country's population of 11.9 million.

The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that more than 216,000 people were forcibly returned to Haiti in 2023, despite the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis, and despite repeated calls that Haitians should not be forcibly returned to the Caribbean nation. According to an IOM report released Monday, most of the Haitians were returned from the neighboring Dominican Republic - 96 percent - but also from the United States, Cuba, the Bahamas, Turkey, and Jamaica as well as Turks and Caicos.

The United Nations on Tuesday condemned the ongoing offensive launched last week by the rebel group Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). On Saturday, the non-state armed group captured the town of Masisi in the eastern province of North Kivu. Intense clashes between the Congolese army (FARDC) and the M23 have forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes in less than a week.

The United Nations (UN) and the government of Haiti have reiterated their appeal Tuesday for an international force to quickly deploy to the Caribbean island nation to help subdue an unprecedented level of gang violence that has terrorized the population. The move comes as 5.2 million people – nearly half of the Haitian population – are in need of humanitarian aid, including 2.6 million children.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday issued new provisional measures for Israel as the catastrophic humanitarian situation in bombarded and besieged Gaza continues to deteriorate, and famine is immanent.  The legally binding order compels Israel to take "all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay" to send in "urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance", including food, water, shelter, fuel and medical supplies.

The United States government this week labelled the actions of Sudan's paramilitary forces as genocide and imposed sanctions on its leader for the "horrific, systematic atrocities" committed by his forces in a war that has gripped Sudan for nearly two years, killing tens of thousands of people and driving more than 12 million from their homes. Yet at the same time, the US administration denies that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are being committed in the Gaza Strip.

Haitian leaders are rushing to meet a looming deadline to name members of a transitional council that will take power following the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Meanwhile, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that Haiti is on the brink of a devastating hunger crisis, with humanitarian operations at risk of grinding to a halt amid rampant violence as armed gangs tighten their grip on the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The international community pledged $1.5 billion Monday toward tackling the massive humanitarian crisis in Sudan, as fighting between forces led by rival generals has only been punctuated by brief truces and no political solution appears close at hand. Meanwhile, the lasted 72-hour truce in Sudan that came into force Sunday morning seems to be holding, at least in the capital Khartoum.

Armed groups, including one linked to the Armed Forces of the Central African Republic (CAR), have committed grave human rights violations in the Haut Oubangui region in the south-east of the country, mainly against Muslim communities and Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers, according to a new UN report. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in CAR remains critical as the population continues to face insecurity, while the ongoing war in Sudan exacerbates the situation.

Killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence by criminal groups in and around Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, have increased dramatically since the start of 2023 with a weak to non-existent state response, the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned in a report released Monday.  HRW said while international security support may be needed, it should be “part of a multi-faceted response with robust human rights safeguards.”

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that recent fighting in Puntland State in northeastern Somalia, as well as in Middle and Lower Shabelle regions in the center of the country, has forced at least 110,000 people to flee their homes. According to OCHA, tens of thousands of people have also been displaced in recent months by ongoing inter-clan clashes in several other areas of the East African country.

Children make up about half of all armed gang members in Haiti, the head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday, calling for their protection to be stepped up. Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) says it is ramping up its operations in Haiti in the face of a hunger crisis caused mainly by violence and displacement. Some 5.5 million Haitians are in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024, a number that is expected to rise.

The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, has strongly condemned indiscriminate attacks in the town of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State. Local authorities reported that at least 97 civilians were killed or injured when a hospital, a cattle market and residential areas came under attack on Saturday.

The United Nations and humanitarian partner organizations have today launched the 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) for South Sudan, targeting 6 million children, women, and men with the most acute needs.  In the forthcoming year, 9 million people in the country - a slight decrease from 2023 - are projected to be in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. Among those requiring humanitarian aid will be 4.9 million children.

An estimated 30,000 people have been reportedly displaced following violent clashes by armed groups in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area of South Sudan. Both the country's humanitarian community and the international community are calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says in a statement released today that on 24 December armed young men from Jonglei State attacked communities in parts of the Greater Pibor Area.