Food Insecurity

According to the international humanitarian organization Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the number of people forced to flee their homes in Colombia has doubled since the historic peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was signed eight years ago. While more than 130,000 people were forced to flee in Colombia in 2016, NRC estimates that the number of newly displaced people will exceed 260,000 in 2024.

As world leaders gather in New York for the 79th United Nations General Assembly and the threat of a wider regional escalation looms, the world's humanitarian leaders are demanding an end to the appalling human suffering and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.  "These atrocities must end," they said in a statement signed Monday by the heads of UN agencies and representatives of the world's non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

As Haiti faces a worsening conflict involving heavily armed gangs, the number of people killed, injured or kidnapped has surged in 2023, according to a new United Nations report. The number of reported homicides last year increased by nearly 120 percent compared with 2022, with 4,789 victims reported during 2023. Haiti now has a homicide rate of 40.9 per 100,000 people, one of the highest in the world.

Two weeks after 7.7 and 6.4 magnitude earthquakes struck Myanmar, the United Nations and humanitarian partners on Friday launched a $275 million flash appeal as an addendum to the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) to reach 1.1 million people with urgent assistance. The devastating earthquakes have killed at least 3,600 people and left 2 million in critical need of assistance and protection.

The United Nations (UN) and humanitarian partners in Malawi are calling for $70.6 million to help more than a million people who were affected by Tropical Cyclone Freddy. In March 2023, one of the longest-lasting tropical storms on record hit Malawi, causing extensive damage, claiming the lives of hundreds of people, leaving more than 650,000 people homeless, and affecting some 2.3 million people.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns millions of people in the greater Horn of Africa will likely face a fifth consecutive season of insufficient rains. According to the United Nations agency the terrible long drought in the Horn of Africa is set to continue for another year, which will worsen the humanitarian crisis which is impacting millions of people who already have suffered the longest drought in 40 years.

Colombia's Catatumbo region has descended into an acute humanitarian crisis following intensified violent clashes between non-state armed groups (NSAGs), in particular the National Liberation Army (ELN) and splinter groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). With more than 80 people killed in armed violence, President Gustavo Petro Urrego suspended peace talks with the ELN.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that Israeli displacement orders followed by airstrikes continue to drive panic among civilians in Lebanon, particularly in the suburbs of the capital Beirut. According to Lebanese officials, more than 3,300 people, including more than 200 children, have been killed and more than 14,000 injured by Israeli airstrikes since October 2023, most of them within the past six weeks.

Nearly 580,000 people, including 300,000 children, are internally displaced across Haiti, a 60 percent increase since March, according to the latest data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The UN agency says the rise is due to the deterioration of the security situation in the metropolitan area of Port-Au-Prince, the country's capital, particularly between the end of February and April. Haiti is now the country with the largest number of displacements globally due to crime-related violence.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is warning of surging needs for more than 3.4 million displaced people and their hosts communities in the face of recent destructive flooding in Africa’s Sahel region and beyond. In Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Cameroon above-average rain falls and flooding have killed hundreds, displaced thousands and affected millions.

The "carnage" in the Gaza Strip has left more than 30,000 dead and must end immediately, United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk told the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, after nearly five months of continuous Israeli bombardment and mass displacement in the enclave. Meanwhile, Israel, which has the duty and legal obligation to ensure the provision of food and goods to the people of Gaza, continues to fail to provide or even facilitate the delivery of essential supplies for the survival of some 2.3 million people living in Gaza.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has expressed great alarm today as violent clashes between non-state armed groups and government forces drive hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo). In February alone, nearly 300,000 people fled across Rutshuru and Masisi territories in North Kivu Province, UNHCR said.

The United Nations is sounding the alarm over the deepening humanitarian crisis in Syria, with officials warning that a severe lack of funding threatens to undermine fragile progress and exacerbate the suffering of millions. On Wednesday, UN officials briefing the UN Security Council also highlighted the urgent need for increased international support for the country's political transition, including sanctions relief and political engagement.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Monday of a sharp deterioration in the situation in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur State. This warning comes amid reports that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the Sudanese army headquarters in the city on Sunday. In light of the situation, UN relief chief Tom Fletcher has called for an immediate ceasefire in El Fasher, across Darfur, and throughout Sudan.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the humanitarian community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been forced to reprioritize its response plan due to critical funding shortfalls. The move is part of a "Humanitarian Reset," following a dramatic drop in funding triggered by the United States' brutal cessation of most contributions and cuts to humanitarian assistance by other major donors around the world.

The United Nations says it remains deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Haiti amid ongoing gang violence and sporadic clashes between heavily armed gangs and police forces in some parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince. At least 15,000 people have been displaced by the clashes, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

At the end of a visit to Syria, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, on Monday called on the international community to take bold and decisive action to help Syrians rebuild their war-torn country and support displaced Syrians returning home. More than 500,000 refugees have returned to Syria since September, including 200,000 after the fall of the Assad government in early December.

Amid escalating violence in Haiti, United Nations relief chief Tom Fletcher made an impassioned plea for international support to ease immense suffering. Fletcher spent three days in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, meeting with people in urgent need, government officials, humanitarian partners, and diplomats. Meanwhile, the UN is fast-tracking support for displaced and host communities in Haiti, in light of the dire situation and massive funding shortfalls.

The humanitarian organization International Rescue Committee (IRC) has released its annual Emergency Watchlist Thursday, highlighting the 20 countries most at risk of deteriorating humanitarian crises in 2024.  This year, Sudan, Occupied Palestinian Territory and South Sudan top the list of humanitarian emergencies, as conflict, climate risk, economic pressures, growing impunity, and waning international support fuel new and ongoing humanitarian crises around the globe.