Humanitarian Organizations

With the full-scale war in Ukraine about to enter its second year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today have jointly appealed for US$5.6 billion (€ 5.24 billion) to ease the plight of millions of people affected. The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, launched the appeal Wednesday in Geneva.

Over 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Rutshuru Territory in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North-Kivu province, since renewed fighting between the Congolese army and the “Mouvement du 23 mars” (M23) armed group broke out on 20 October, the United Nations report this week.  While at least 188,000 men, women and children are now internally displaced, more than 16,500 others have sought refuge in Uganda.

With hostilities in Myanmar escalating, sparked by a military coup in 2021, and millions of people plunged into a deepening humanitarian crisis, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday urged the country's neighbors to "leverage their influence" to achieve peace and a political solution. Meanwhile, an estimated 1 million people in Myanmar are also suffering from the effects of recent deadly floods.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip is the worst it has been since the war began in October 2023. Atrocities continue on a massive scale, and the limited amount of aid entering Gaza falls far short of what is needed to support the more than two million starving civilians following 80 days of a total Israeli blockade of all commercial and humanitarian supplies.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), humanitarian operations in Niger are currently on hold following the attempted coup in the country. The United Nations, the United States, the West African economic bloc ECOWAS, the African Union and the European Union have called for the release of Niger’s president, Mohamed Bazoum, after a group of soldiers claimed to have removed him from power Wednesday. President Bazoum has urged democratic forces in the country to resist the power grab.

The United Nations says the security situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate, as gang violence is growing and major crimes reach record levels. Briefing the UN Security Council (SC) Monday, the UN special envoy to the country, María Isabel Salvador, also stressed the enormous significance of SC resolution 2699, adopted earlier this month, authorizing the establishment and deployment of a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns of a sharp decline in the humanitarian situation in El Fasher, the besieged capital of Sudan’s North Darfur State. OCHA reports that civilians in El Fasher continue to endure relentless attacks, acute hunger, and cholera. The population faces daily threats from shelling, airstrikes, and drone attacks — with fierce clashes reported in north-eastern districts of the state capital in recent weeks.

The third High Level Conference on the Lake Chad Region has concluded Tuesday with reaffirmed commitments from Lake Chad Basin countries and international partners for a coordinated, regional and sustainable response, supported by humanitarian and development organizations. More than US$500 million (€458 million) in aid has been pledged to support joint actions at the local level.

Violence in Myanmar is spiraling as the military junta increases its attacks on monasteries, schools, and camps sheltering people uprooted by the civil war, a top independent human rights investigator warned Wednesday. This warning comes as the number of people in Myanmar in need of humanitarian assistance has risen to an unprecedented 22 million, following four years of fierce civil war and devastating earthquakes three months ago.

Battles raged in the streets of Khartoum for a fifth day Wednesday after the country's two warring factions failed to honor a cease-fire. Loud explosions and gunfire were heard in the Sudanese capital, and witnesses reported heavy fighting between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the center of the city.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) Save the Children International has today expressed its grave concern for the wellbeing of children and their families in Haiti, amid escalating violence and worsening political and economic crises. The NGO is urgently calling on the international community to ramp up its support to the Caribbean nation, to meet the growing needs of vulnerable children and families.

Women and girls are bearing the brunt of an ongoing "dangerous erosion" of human rights in Afghanistan, the United Nations reported Tuesday, attributing the crisis to a deliberate failure by the country's radical Taliban. Since regaining control of Afghanistan in August 2021, Taliban leaders have systematically deprived women and girls of their basic rights, including the right to education, work, and freedoms of movement and expression, as well as the right to live free from violence.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that over 25,000 people have been displaced in Mozambique in recent weeks. They have joined nearly 1.3 million Mozambicans affected by displacement due to armed conflict, tropical cyclones, and drought. With critical funding running low, the UNHCR is raising the alarm and warning that its ability to protect and assist those in urgent need is being pushed to the limit.

The United Nations peacekeeping chief said Friday that the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) rebel group is advancing on the South Kivu provincial capital of Bukavu, after seizing control of Goma in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, DR Congo) earlier this week. Meanwhile, UN agencies warn that the situation continues to deteriorate for civilians trapped by days of intense fighting in and around Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

The United Nations’ top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about the “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities. The heavy humanitarian and psychological toll of these Russian strikes is compounded by the expectation that this winter will be much colder than last year and that the rate of destruction of energy infrastructure may exceed the recovery rate.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the UN and its partners are continuing to deliver critical aid across Ukraine, despite the increasing risks to humanitarian workers. On Wednesday, a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse was damaged in a drone attack on the city of Dnipro.

According to health officials in Gaza, Israeli forces have killed more than 55,000 Palestinians — most of whom were children, women, and the elderly — and injured more than 127,000 others in their attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 2023. However, the true numbers of fatalities are estimated to be much higher. The identified dead include more than 15,000 children, 463 aid workers, 319 UN staff members, 1,580 healthcare workers, and 224 journalists.