OCHA

With nearly 1.2 million people in Somalia already affected by heavy rains and flooding and more expected, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has released US$25 million on Thursday to help people in the country brace against the impact of these disasters. OCHA reported Wednesday that torrential rains and floods have displaced some 335,000 men, women and children from their homes. 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says critical aid lifelines to northern Gaza have been cut off, with no food or other essential supplies entering since October 1. The main crossings into the area remain closed, while the more than 400,000 people who remain there are under increasing pressure to flee southwards in response to Israeli evacuation orders.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that stepped-up fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan puts civilian lives at risk. In a major escalation on Friday, Pakistan carried out airstrikes and ground attacks on targets inside Afghanistan, aggravating the country's severe humanitarian and human rights crises.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that South Sudan is facing a "perfect storm" of ongoing violence, imminent flooding, economic crisis, underfunding of the humanitarian response, and an influx of new arrivals due to the war in neighboring Sudan. The warning comes as 9 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian assistance. Among those in need are 4.9 million children.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the escalation of hostilities in north-west Syria has developed rapidly since Tuesday night. Shelling and airstrikes on front lines in the cities of Idleb and western Aleppo have escalated, leading to clashes and changes of control between warring parties. The renewed fighting has exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Monday that it remains gravely concerned about the impact of ongoing military activities in Lebanon on civilians. These concerns include the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs late Thursday, just before the start of the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha. Additional strikes were recorded in the southern village of Ain Qana that same night.

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has released US$125 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to boost underfunded humanitarian operations in fourteen countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East. Afghanistan and Yemen top the recipient list with $20 million each. 

The United Nations says no goods for humanitarian operations are entering the Gaza Strip through either the Rafah or Kerem Shalom crossings because of Israeli military operations around the crossings, with bombardments throughout the day. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) says this is disastrous for the relief effort in the embattled territory, where 2.3 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

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.

Officials in Afghanistan say the death toll from a powerful earthquake that shook western parts of the country on Saturday has risen to more than 2,000. The Taliban-led Ministry of Natural Disasters confirmed the death toll in a statement Sunday, saying more than 1,300 houses were completely destroyed in the quake.

The United Nations and its humanitarian partners have launched Thursday a $502 million (€462 million) appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) to help 1.6 million of the most vulnerable people. The 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) estimates that 2.1 million Palestinians across the OPT need some form of humanitarian assistance this year. Among them are more than 1 million children.

The United Nations humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, and the Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, on Thursday welcomed the news that the crucial Adre crossing between eastern Chad and the western region of Darfur in Sudan will remain open for the movement of humanitarian personnel and life-saving supplies. Since its reopening eight months ago, the Adre crossing has been a vital lifeline for millions of people in dire need in the region.

Amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, renewed conflict and airstrikes in Jonglei State have forced over 100,000 people to flee, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The majority of those displaced are women, children, and older people. The insecurity has also led several humanitarian organizations to relocate their staff, disrupting essential activities.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that clashes and insecurity continue to kill and injure civilians in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo). Ongoing fighting between non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and the Congolese army, and attacks by NSAGs against civilians, are also causing record displacement, with eastern DRC facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

While civilians are being targeted or indiscriminately attacked in several regions of Sudan, with hundreds reportedly killed, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that Sudan's humanitarian crisis continues to intensify as cholera spreads throughout the country, flooding displaces communities, and thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) return to areas with little to no support.

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.

Time is running out for millions of people in Sudan who are "at imminent risk of famine" because the country's warring parties are preventing aid from reaching them, major aid agencies warn. Nineteen global humanitarian organizations, including twelve United Nations agencies, urged Sudan's warring parties on Friday to stop blocking food aid from reaching millions of people suffering from acute hunger.

The latest escalation in the protracted South Sudan crisis has seen intense clashes between the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Army – In Opposition (SPLA-IO), displacing over 280,000 civilians across Jonglei State. Violence has escalated since late December 2025, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that the severe drought in Somalia is putting millions of lives at risk, while humanitarian aid remains severely limited due to dwindling funds. On Monday, the Somali government declared a nationwide drought emergency. The drought is particularly severe in the eastern and northern regions but is spreading to central and southern Somalia as well.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning that several areas of Somalia are at risk of drought due to prolonged extreme dry conditions, with hundreds of thousands of families likely to be hit.  Already, 4.4 million people in the East African country are facing hunger - and conditions are expected to worsen as the April to June rainy season is forecast to start late and receive below-normal rainfall.