Humanitarian Organizations

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that the ongoing conflict and spreading disease outbreaks are having a devastating impact on children in Sudan. Separately, independent human rights investigators report that the civil war in Sudan is intensifying, marked by an increased use of heavy weaponry in populated areas and a sharp rise in sexual and gender-based violence. Countless civilians caught in the conflict face devastating consequences.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) says it is closely monitoring developments in Myanmar, where anti-military armed groups and their allies have made significant advances, and several hundred soldiers had reportedly chosen to lay down their weapons. In the fighting so far, around 70 people have been reportedly killed and over 90 wounded, with more than 200,000 internally displaced since the end of October.

Hours before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 141 of 193 United Nations member states have passed a resolution calling for an immediate Russian troop withdrawal and a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine. Seven states voted Thursday against the resolution text at a special session of the UN General Assembly (UN-GA): Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, Syria and Russia. 32 countries abstained, including China, India, South Africa and Iran.

A leading United Nations official on Friday urged the international community to immediately scale up its support for children and families to avert a worsening humanitarian emergency across Ethiopia. Some 21.4 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian assistance this year, including 12 million children.

The latest analysis of acute food insecurity in the Gaza Strip concludes that as long as Israel's war on Gaza continues and humanitarian access is restricted by its military and political authorities, the risk of famine remains high throughout the territory. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report on Gaza, released on Tuesday, paints a stark picture of ongoing hunger, finding that 96 percent of the population faces acute food insecurity at crisis level or worse, with nearly half a million people in catastrophic conditions.

The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) has called Wednesday on the international community to step-up funding efforts, and to not abandon millions of civilians who bear the brunt of the nine months conflict in Sudan. With nearly 25 million people requiring relief aid, a coordinated and continued humanitarian response is urgently needed to address the mounting needs of the world’s largest internal displacement crisis.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) released its annual Emergency Watchlist on Wednesday, spotlighting the 20 countries most likely to face escalating humanitarian needs in the coming year. According to the dire ranking, the top five crises are Sudan, the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Myanmar, Syria and South Sudan, as war and climate change fuel new and ongoing humanitarian emergencies around the world.

The humanitarian organization International Rescue Committee (IRC) has released its annual Emergency Watchlist Wednesday, highlighting the 20 countries most at risk of deteriorating humanitarian crises in 2023.  This year, Somalia, Ethiopia and Afghanistan top the Watchlist, as East Africa faces the worst drought in decades and economic turmoil continues to compound needs in Afghanistan. 

Hurricane Melissa — a powerful storm that made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale — is currently sweeping across Cuba, devastating the region and leaving dozens dead. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), evacuations, preparations, and relief efforts are ongoing as Melissa continues to impact the Caribbean.

Amid rising regional tensions and a worsening humanitarian situation, all actors must put the interests of the Yemeni people first in order to restore peace and stability in the country, Hans Grundberg, the UN envoy for Yemen, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday. Grundberg warned that as the military escalation in the Middle East intensifies, Yemen risks being dragged further into it.

The volatile security situation in Ituri province, located in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, DR Congo), continues to pose a significant threat to civilians, forcing thousands to flee their homes and disrupting the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid. According to the latest update from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), local authorities estimate that over 1 million people are currently displaced in Ituri province alone.

Civilians and civilian infrastructure in Iran continue to bear the brunt of attacks by the United States and Israel. The Iranian Ministry of Health reports more than 1,900 deaths and nearly 25,000 injuries, including over 1,600 children and at least 4,000 women, since February 28. Casualties have been reported in at least 20 provinces, with the highest numbers in the capital, Tehran, and the province of Hormozgan.

A renewed escalation of the conflict in northern Syria could worsen the suffering of millions of people struggling to cope with a dire humanitarian situation in the country's twelve-year crisis, the Syria International NGO Regional Forum (SIRF) warned in a statement Thursday. The international group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to the Syria crisis is calling on all warring parties to refrain from further escalation and protect civilians.

According to a new report from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) released Thursday, Sudan is not only the world’s largest displacement crisis, but also the most neglected. The non-governmental organization (NGO) warns that neglected crises are particularly affected by brutal cuts to humanitarian funding by donors such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports Thursday that up to 300,000 people have fled Al-Jazirah state following the clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) around Wad Madani, the capital of Al-Jazirah State. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), half of them are children. Around 7 million people have been already displaced inside and outside Sudan since fighting broke out between the warring parties on April 15, 2023.

The United Nations and its humanitarian partners have urged solidarity with drought-affected people in Southern Africa and called on the international community to help scale up a timely emergency response to drought in the region, which includes the already crisis-hit countries of Malawi, Madagascar and Mozambique. More than 61 million people in the region have been affected by drought and other extreme weather conditions caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon and exacerbated by the climate crisis.

The United Nations Security Council has voted Monday to authorize an international force to support Haiti’s police amid a gang-driven security crisis. Acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, 13 of the 15 council members voted for the non-UN Multinational Security Support Mission. China and Russia abstained. Haiti has repeated called for help in supporting its national police.

The humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) reports an alarming increase in the number of children with severe acute malnutrition and medical complications requiring lifesaving treatment in its therapeutic feeding centers in southern Afghanistan. The non-governmental organization (NGO) is calling on donors, health authorities, and other relevant organizations to prioritize and restore funding for nutrition programs across Afghanistan.

As civilians lining up for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip continue to be killed by Israeli forces, speakers at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Wednesday urged Israel to lift restrictions on aid operations in Gaza, called for a return to UN-led delivery mechanisms, and stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire and the protection of civilians. Among them was UN relief chief Tom Fletcher, who told members that "we are beyond vocabulary to describe conditions in Gaza."

One week after Storm Daniel hit northeastern Libya, unleashing devastating flooding that swept away large swathes of entire cities, the human toll of the disaster continues to mount. According to the Libyan Red Crescent, the unprecedented flooding and other storm-related incidents have left some 11,470 people dead and more than 10,100 still missing.