Save the Children

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is calling for immediate, unimpeded and safe access to conflict-hit areas of Sudan to provide food to millions of displaced people facing acute hunger, amid warnings that this “forgotten war” has potential implications for regional stability. The UN agency says more than nine months of conflict have taken an unimaginable toll on civilians. WFP calls the situation beyond dire, noting that almost 18 million people are facing acute hunger.

Amid new daily heat records worldwide, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned Thursday that the Earth is becoming hotter and more dangerous for everyone, killing nearly half a million people a year, and he blamed fossil fuels for driving global warming. Guterres also issued a global call to action focused on caring for the most vulnerable exposed to extreme heat.

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.

A new United Nations report warns that acute food insecurity is worsening in 16 hunger hotspots across the globe, which threatens to push millions more people into famine or risk of famine, with time running out to avert widespread starvation. The report identifies armed conflict and violence, economic collapse, climate extremes, and an unprecedented decline in humanitarian funding as the main drivers of acute hunger.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has raised a dire warning about the escalating food crisis in Sudan Wednesday as more than 20 million people are facing hunger and close to 4 million people have been displaced as a result of the conflict. Meanwhile, the international human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) said in a new report Thursday, that extensive war crimes are being committed in Sudan as the conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) ravages the country.

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 first three months of 2023 were the deadliest first quarter since 2017 for migrants crossing the central Mediterranean Sea in boats, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Wednesday. The UN agency’s Missing Migrants Project documented 441 migrant deaths on the central Mediterranean route in this period; overall 26,358 dead or missing women, men, or children were recorded since 2014 in the Mediterranean on all routes.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning that hundreds of thousands of people in South Sudan are at risk of going without life-saving assistance unless additional funding for the humanitarian response is received without delay. Some 9 million people - including 4.9 million children - in the country are in need of humanitarian aid, and the outlook for the coming months is worrying.

Global solidarity is urgently needed to help vulnerable people in the Horn of Africa survive a rapidly unfolding humanitarian catastrophe, driven by the longest and most severe drought in recent history, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said in a joined statement on Monday. As the drought is set to run well into 2023, aid organizations must prepare now to continue their life-saving work in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya in response to extremely high humanitarian needs through to next year.

At least 80 refugees and migrants have died in the Mediterranean Sea in separate incidents off the coasts of North Africa in recent days. Two boats departing from Tunisia and Libya encountered difficulties, resulting in devastating losses of life. These tragedies underscore the ongoing dangers faced by individuals attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean route. Meanwhile, the Tunisian Coast Guard successfully rescued 100 people from a third boat.

The second Global Refugee Forum (GRF) closed Friday after three days with a range of pledges to improve the lives of the world’s refugees and the countries and communities that host them. States also pledged to resettle 1 million refugees by 2030, while governments and foundations launched a pledge backed by a new global sponsorship fund to help 3 million refugees access third countries through community sponsorship. 

Next year will set another record for humanitarian relief requirements, with 339 million people in need of assistance in 69 countries, an increase of 65 million people compared to the same time last year, the United Nations (UN) and humanitarian partner organizations said today. The estimated cost of the humanitarian response going into 2023 is US$51.5 billion (EUR 49.3 billion), a 25 per cent increase compared to the beginning of 2022.

With the current truce agreement between the warring parties in Yemen set to expire on 2 October 2022, more than 40 national and international humanitarian organizations today urged all parties to the conflict to renew and expand the ceasefire. They also reminded the parties that the future of the people of Yemen is in their hands.

Protection services are severely lacking for refugees and migrants - including survivors of human trafficking - making perilous journeys from the Sahel and Horn of Africa towards North Africa and Europe, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warns. In a report released 29 July 2022, the eve of World Day against Trafficking in Persons, UNHCR mapped protection services available to asylum-seekers, refugees, and migrants as they travel along these routes.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk has strongly criticized politicians and some media outlets for scapegoating migrants, refugees, and minorities during election campaigns in countries such as Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Speaking at the opening of the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, Türk urged all voters to be vigilant and warned against "strongman" politicians.

Angola is once again number one among the top ten forgotten humanitarian crises that received the least media attention last year, according to the international humanitarian organization CARE.  For the eighth time, CARE has published its "Breaking the Silence" report to draw attention to forgotten crises around the world which are most neglected. Zambia and Burundi follow this year on second and third place.