An international non-governmental organization (NGO) warned Monday that a large-scale plague of locusts is ravaging northern Afghanistan and could destroy 1.2 million metric tons of wheat, almost one-quarter of the country's annual harvest. The locust outbreak comes as funding shortfalls have cut off food aid for 8 million people in Afghanistan in the past two months.
The United Nations Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region has told the UN Security Council Wednesday that the fragile ceasefire between the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) and the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) rebels in North Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) seems to be holding. Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the security situation in neighboring Ituri Province remains extremely concerning due to ongoing attacks against civilians.
The number of Rohingya taking risky boat trips across the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea to flee mounting hunger and hopelessness in the refugee camps of Bangladesh this year has topped last year’s numbers and could keep rising, rights groups and aid agencies say. A growing number of desperate Rohingya refugees continues to arrive in Indonesia in overcrowded vessels, as conditions in refugee camps in Bangladesh continue to worsen, where food rations have been significantly cut.
Since the last attack on El Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur State at the end of October, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that tens of thousands of refugees and returnees have crossed into neighboring Chad. The Saharan nation is currently hosting approximately 903,000 Sudanese refugees who escaped the conflict that began in Sudan in April 2023.
Half of families in Sri Lanka are forced to reduce the amount they feed their children, according to a survey by the humanitarian organization Save the Children International, as the country’s economic downturn spirals further into a full-blown hunger crisis nearly a year after the government defaulted on its debt. The non-governmental organization (NGO) said today the government and international community must act now to prevent the country’s children from becoming a lost generation.
The international humanitarian organization Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on Friday expressed grave concern about the intensifying crisis in Mozambique, which has compounded an already dire humanitarian situation. In a statement, NRC said it has had to suspend much of its relief operations as movement in the field remains too dangerous.
Severe acute food insecurity has increased massively since the start of the war in Sudan, leaving more than half of the country hungry. The Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster (FSLC) said in an advocacy note released on Monday that urgent action, resources and funding are needed to prevent further deterioration and escalation of needs.
On 6 February two devastating earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude took place in Turkey’s Kahramanmaraş Province, but more than a month after the disaster hit, needs remain immense, while funding has been slow. The Turkey Earthquake Appeal of $1 billion is currently only 10.4 per cent funded with $104.3 million received. The Syria Earthquake Flash Appeal has received $218 million, or 55 per cent, of the nearly $400 million needed.
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.
Three months after the horrific earthquakes of February 6 in Turkey and Northwest Syria, resulting in over 60,000 deaths, thousands of injuries, and massive damage to infrastructure, the humanitarian needs across the earthquake affected region remain acute, warns the nongovernmental organization (NGO) CARE International. In a statement Tuesday, CARE said it remains committed to continue responding to increasing humanitarian needs in a fragile context.
The United Nations, together with the Government of Haiti and other partner organizations, on Tuesday launched the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Haiti, which requires US$674 million. The HRP aims to provide food, shelter, health, education and protection services to 3.6 million Haitians over the next 12 months. More than 5.5 million people - including 3 million children - are in need of humanitarian assistance this year as the security situation in the Caribbean country deteriorates.
Six days after a devastating earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, the full extent of the damage is coming to light, particularly in the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar. According to the United Nations, more than 2,200 people have been confirmed dead, at least 3,640 have been injured, and over 6,750 houses have been destroyed, which has affected at least 500,000 people, according to the European Union. As the situation unfolds, however, these figures are likely to rise, as unofficial figures communicated by the Taliban already indicate.
In a gross violation of international humanitarian law, Israel has blocked the entry of aid trucks into the Gaza Strip since Sunday. The total blockade came amid stalled cessation of hostilities talks. The Red Cross Movement warns that the closure of all crossings for aid into Gaza poses a grave risk to the millions of people who have been struggling to survive for sixteen months.
An alarming six out of ten hospitals in Haiti are barely functioning as the recent escalation of violence in the capital, Port-Au-Prince, continues to deprive children of critical health supplies and medicines, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the non-governmental organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) called on the armed groups involved in the fighting and Haitian authorities to facilitate the delivery of medical supplies to those in need.
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 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.
The United Nations says warring parties in Yemen have agreed on a significant step to end the devastating civil war, following a series of meetings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Muscat, Oman mediated by the UN. In a statement Saturday, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, welcomed the parties’ commitment to a set of measures, which includes implementing a nationwide ceasefire, improving living conditions in Yemen, and the resumption of an inclusive political process under UN auspices.
Some 800,000 people have been forced to flee Gaza's southernmost town of Rafah since Israel launched a military operation in the area in early May, the head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Saturday, urging greater protection for civilians in Gaza, safe humanitarian access and a ceasefire. The renewed appeal comes as virtually no aid has entered Gaza for more than ten days, and essentials such as fuel, food and water are in dangerously short supply.
The humanitarian community in Haiti seeks the mobilization of the international community as the country witnesses the continued escalation of violence perpetrated by armed groups in Port-au-Prince and the Département Artibonite. According to a statement released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Thursday, the “world must act now to prevent further atrocities.”
According to a new United Nations report published Friday, Myanmar’s overall humanitarian and human rights situation has deteriorated to alarming levels, exacerbated by the military’s strategy to prevent life-saving humanitarian aid from reaching those who desperately need it, including in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Mocha in May. The report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says intentional obstruction or denial of humanitarian assistance may amount to gross violations of international human rights law, and international humanitarian law.
