Relief News Updates
UN News - Humanitarian Aid
UN News - Humanitarian Aid
Madagascar: Severe drought could spur world’s first climate change famine
Thu, 21 Oct 2021 17:07:58 -0400
More than one million people in southern Madagascar are struggling to get enough to eat, due to what could become the first famine caused by climate change, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
$667 million funding call to help Afghans through economic crisis
Thu, 21 Oct 2021 10:59:26 -0400
Afghanistan’s economy is imploding, with all but three per cent of households expected to fall below the poverty line in coming months, the UN said on Thursday.
Humanitarian assistance stepped up on Yemen's west coast, amid clashes
Wed, 20 Oct 2021 11:06:58 -0400
Humanitarian assistance has been ramped up on Yemen's west coast where ongoing violence has increased the needs of communities displaced by years of conflict, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday.
Myanmar: Three million in urgent need of life-saving assistance, protection
Tue, 19 Oct 2021 16:46:13 -0400
The UN Country Team in Myanmar remains “deeply concerned over the humanitarian impact” of the country’s ongoing crises stemming largely from the military coup in February, the UN Spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Yemen war reaches ‘shameful milestone’ - 10,000 children now killed or maimed
Tue, 19 Oct 2021 12:47:35 -0400
Another “shameful milestone” has been reached in the conflict in Yemen with 10,000 children killed or maimed since fighting started in March 2015, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
UNHCR chief urges better support for 13 million 'exhausted' and displaced Syrians
Mon, 18 Oct 2021 12:36:44 -0400
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has urged greater international support for the more than 13 million Syrians who’ve been displaced in the past 10 years.
Displaced in northeast Nigeria ‘knocking on door of starvation’: WFP
Fri, 15 Oct 2021 14:33:38 -0400
Displaced families in Nigeria’s northeast are “knocking on the door of starvation”, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
Yemen: Dialogue and compromise ‘only way forward’
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 12:51:41 -0400
A comprehensive negotiated political settlement is needed to end the violence in Yemen “once and for all”, UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council on Thursday.
Mali maestro’s message of peace to Sahel region’s youngsters drawn to extremism
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 05:30:07 -0400
An ambitious project to raise awareness about rising insecurity and mass displacement in the Sahel has resulted in an original musical score from Mali songwriter Vieux Farka Touré.
Afghanistan crisis worsening as temperatures drop, warns UNHCR
Tue, 12 Oct 2021 09:51:29 -0400
The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is worsening and funding for emergency aid is urgently needed to help 20 million people there, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.
Afghanistan: World must act on ‘make or break moment’ – UN chief
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 13:25:43 -0400
Amidst a growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, on Monday UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the world to take action during a "make or break" moment for the country.
Yemen’s future recovery hangs in balance, warns senior UN aid coordinator
Mon, 11 Oct 2021 11:33:09 -0400
Ongoing conflict and violence across Yemen continue to impact heavily on the country’s people who desperately need the fighting to end, so that they can rebuild their lives, the UN’s senior humanitarian official in the country said on Monday.
DR Congo: Lack of sufficient funding means tough choices for humanitarians
Fri, 08 Oct 2021 16:29:03 -0400
Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a lack of funding, are leaving humanitarians with a stark choice over who to assist, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country warned on Friday.
Afghanistan: Humanitarians call for greater support as winter approaches
Wed, 06 Oct 2021 11:07:30 -0400
UN humanitarian agencies and their partners on Wednesday urged countries to honour their pledges to Afghanistan, as they rush to scale-up delivery of lifesaving aid ahead of the coming winter season there.
Half of Afghanistan’s under-5s expected to suffer acute malnutrition
Tue, 05 Oct 2021 11:54:01 -0400
An estimated 3.2 million Afghan children under five, are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition by the end of the year, UN agencies warned on Tuesday, adding that without immediate treatment, at least a million are at risk of dying.
Tigray: Food aid reaches Afar and Amhara, but situation still ‘dire’
Tue, 05 Oct 2021 11:52:49 -0400
The first round of food distributions to people in Afar and Amhara regions impacted by the spread of the conflict in northern Ethiopia has been completed, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
UN looks to address ‘unprecedented catastrophic levels’ of food insecurity
Mon, 04 Oct 2021 16:29:14 -0400
The world currently faces unprecedented catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity, according to UN agencies, and around $6.6 billion is needed urgently, to support 41 million in danger of sliding into famine.
Haiti facing stalled elections, kidnapping surge, rampant insecurity
Mon, 04 Oct 2021 12:55:50 -0400
Haiti is currently undergoing “one of the most fraught periods of its recent history”, the head of the UN office in the country told the Security Council on Monday.
Stopping the march towards famine: A UN Resident Coordinator blog
Sat, 02 Oct 2021 00:40:05 -0400
Seven years into a brutal conflict, Yemen is heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance, but the UN is intent on avoiding a repeat of the worst periods of famine and malnutrition its citizens have suffered. On a recent visit to UN headquarters in New York, David Gressly, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, told UN News that, although emergency funds have been received, the humanitarian response remains severely underfunded.
Ethiopia: Decision to expel UN staff could put aid operations at risk
Fri, 01 Oct 2021 17:05:33 -0400
The decision to expel United Nations staff from Ethiopia could affect aid distribution in the war-torn north of the country, where needs and displacement are rising, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
$383 million humanitarian plan to address ‘living nightmare’ in Lebanon
Fri, 01 Oct 2021 14:31:27 -0400
The UN and humanitarian partners on Friday announced a $383 million Emergency Response Plan (ERP) for Lebanon to provide critical life-saving assistance and protection to some 1.1 million citizens and migrants over the next 12 months.
Flash Appeal launched as 2.5 million face ‘dire situation’ in Kenya
Fri, 01 Oct 2021 09:10:48 -0400
Immediate action is needed to respond to the severe drought that is ravaging communities in Kenya’s dry regions – categorized as Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) - the UN’s humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) said on Friday.
Ethiopia: 7 UN officials told to leave country within 72 hours
Thu, 30 Sep 2021 15:53:50 -0400
Secretary-General António Guterres voiced his shock on Thursday after the Ethiopian Government declared seven UN staff persona non grata, ordering them to leave the country within 72 hours.
South Sudan plagued by violence and corruption, Human Rights Council hears
Thu, 23 Sep 2021 12:31:13 -0400
South Sudan continues to be “plagued” by violence and corruption, the Human Rights Council heard on Thursday, jeopardizing the young nation’s efforts to establish lasting peace and put it on the road towards sustainable development.
Millions in Yemen ‘a step away from starvation’
Wed, 22 Sep 2021 17:16:08 -0400
The crisis in Yemen, now in its seventh year of war, continues unabated, with thousands of people displaced and millions “a step away from starvation”, the UN Humanitarian Relief Coordinator said on Wednesday during a high-level side event on the margins of the 76th General Assembly.
First Person: The ‘bravery’ of Afghanistan's girls and women
Wed, 22 Sep 2021 12:41:43 -0400
Afghanistan’s girls and women are showing “bravery” in the face of real “fears and pressures” following the formation of the new, de facto authorities in Afghanistan, according to a UNICEF member of staff, one of the few westerners to remain in Kabul.
Afghanistan’s healthcare system on brink of collapse, as hunger hits 95 per cent of families
Wed, 22 Sep 2021 09:41:33 -0400
Afghanistan’s health system is on the brink of collapse, the head of the World Health Organisation, WHO, warned on Wednesday, while on the streets of Kabul, the hunger families are suffering is as acute in urban areas as the drought-stricken rural parts of the country.
FROM THE FIELD: Haiti’s gruelling post-quake road to recovery
Sat, 18 Sep 2021 06:35:05 -0400
Thousands of Haitians continue to take refuge in neighbours’ houses, makeshift shelters, chapels or informal displacement sites, a month after a devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the west of the Caribbean island where they live. That’s according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) which has been assisting in recovery efforts.
Lebanon crisis: More international assistance needed urgently - WHO chief
Fri, 17 Sep 2021 11:19:13 -0400
Lebanon’s enduring economic crisis risks reversing decades of gains in people’s wellbeing, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
Syria ‘caught in a downward spiral’ UN relief chief tells Security Council
Wed, 15 Sep 2021 17:24:05 -0400
The UN humanitarian affairs chief warned on Wednesday that Syria, after more than a decade of war, remains “caught in a downward spiral” and that “the country will continue to be a place of tragedy, so long as the conflict continues.”
