Relief News Updates
UN News - Humanitarian Aid
UN News - Humanitarian Aid
Syria: Authorization to continue lifesaving cross-border aid remains in limbo
Fri, 10 Jul 2020 16:18:44 -0400
With the deadline just hours away, the Security Council has failed on its third attempt this week to extend its authorization for lifesaving food, medicine and shelter to cross into northwest Syria from Turkey.
Lebanon ‘fast spiralling out of control’ leaving many destitute and facing starvation, warns Bachelet
Fri, 10 Jul 2020 12:05:22 -0400
Sounding the alarm over the crippling impact of “growing economic shocks, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic” in Lebanon, the UN human rights chief called on Friday for a unified response by politicians and the people to overcome the worsening socio-economic crisis there.
Finding hope in calamity: how UN humanitarians cope on the frontline
Fri, 10 Jul 2020 10:00:12 -0400
What does it take to help the world’s most vulnerable people, often in dangerous and unstable situations, and at considerable personal risk? In the latest season of the award-winning UN podcast, Awake At Night, host Melissa Fleming speaks to some of the Organization’s most prominent humanitarians to find out what motivates them, and how they cope.
Waiting to declare famine ‘will be too late for Yemenis on brink of starvation’
Fri, 10 Jul 2020 08:37:08 -0400
In Yemen, fears of famine have resurfaced as UN humanitarians also warned on Friday that 360,000 severely malnourished children could die unless they continue to get treatment and aid is stepped up. In an urgent appeal for funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that it needs $200 million per month to maintain assistance in the war-torn country.
Refugees in Africa ‘even more vulnerable than ever’ amid COVID crisis
Thu, 09 Jul 2020 11:13:52 -0400
Millions of refugees across Africa face even greater food insecurity because of aid disruption and rising food prices linked to the COVID-19 crisis, UN humanitarians warned on Thursday.
Reggae classic ‘One Love’ re-issued to help children upended by COVID crisis
Wed, 08 Jul 2020 20:30:05 -0400
The iconic Bob Marley song One Love is to be re-released with the blessing of the musician’s family to support children whose lives have been upended by COVID-19, the UN said on Thursday.
Syria: Top UN officials appeal to donors to help end ‘shocking’ scale of suffering
Tue, 30 Jun 2020 16:16:52 -0400
The UN chief called on the world to step up “financial, humanitarian and political commitments”, to help end nearly a decade of brutal conflict and suffering across Syria, in a video message delivered to the fourth Brussels Donor Conference on Tuesday.
Extend cross border 'lifeline' into Syria, Lowcock urges Security Council
Mon, 29 Jun 2020 16:13:15 -0400
With COVID-19 cases in Syria multiplying, its economy in freefall, and some households cooking weeds to eat in order to survive, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator is pressing the Security Council to extend its authorization for cross-border aid deliveries from Turkey.
Food is best vaccine against chaos, insists UN World Food Programme head
Mon, 29 Jun 2020 11:05:54 -0400
Tens of millions more people are likely to go hungry this year because of the COVID-19 crisis, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Monday, as it announced plans for a massive boost to its global aid operation so it can reach them.
Syrians ‘face unprecedented hunger amid impending COVID crisis’
Fri, 26 Jun 2020 12:31:01 -0400
Syrian communities devastated by years of civil war now face an “unprecedented” hunger crisis, just as urgent action is needed to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
Yemen: millions of children facing deadly hunger, amidst aid shortages and COVID-19
Thu, 25 Jun 2020 20:15:05 -0400
Millions of children in the heart of the world’s worst humanitarian disaster could be pushed to the brink of starvation, due to huge shortfalls in humanitarian aid funding amid the coronavirus pandemic, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
DR Congo: COVID-19 slows pace of reform, exacerbates fragile security situation
Fri, 26 Jun 2020 05:18:50 -0400
The head of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is asking the Security Council for its continued support as the mission adds the fight against COVID-19 to its to-do list, while also dealing with a fragile security situation in the east of the country.
Coronavirus: 10 million infections milestone looms – WHO's Tedros
Wed, 24 Jun 2020 15:28:57 -0400
The world is on track to reach 10 million coronavirus cases within the next week, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief executive said on Wednesday, a “sober reminder” that as research continues into therapeutics and vaccines, utmost efforts are needed now to suppress transmission and save lives.
Countries urged to act over potential HIV drug shortages, within next two months
Mon, 22 Jun 2020 07:40:33 -0400
Stocks of medication for HIV patients could run out in the next two months, because of higher costs linked to lockdowns and COVID-19 border closures, UNAIDS said on Monday.
Without funds, ‘no choice’ but to suspend most aid flights, warns WFP
Fri, 19 Jun 2020 10:56:38 -0400
A critical warning was issued by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday, declaring that it may soon have “no choice” but to suspend “most” of its critical aid flights, because of a lack of funding.
UN refugee chief laments nearly 80 million people forcibly displaced
Thu, 18 Jun 2020 01:35:05 -0400
Global displacement reached a staggering 79.5 million people last year - almost double the number of people in crisis registered a decade ago – owing to war, violence, persecution and other emergencies, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Thursday.
COVID-19: UN agencies warn against rising hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean
Tue, 16 Jun 2020 13:14:31 -0400
The number of people in Latin America and the Caribbean living in extreme poverty could surpass 83 million this year due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a significant rise in hunger, according to a UN report released on Tuesday.
Syrian refugees resort to ever more desperate measures to resist pandemic impact
Tue, 16 Jun 2020 09:58:20 -0400
The COVID-19 crisis has caused a dramatic spike in the number of Syrian refugees in need of emergency assistance in the last three months, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, in an appeal for funding to confront new challenges posed by the health emergency.
Amid COVID-19 and climate change, UNHCR appeals for $186 million for Sahel refugee and displacement crisis
Fri, 12 Jun 2020 14:57:40 -0400
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has issued an urgent appeal for $186 million to provide lifesaving protection and assistance in the Sahel amidst fears that the conflict in the vast African region – exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic – will spread.
Funding shortfall affecting critical water, sanitation services in Yemen
Fri, 12 Jun 2020 11:47:09 -0400
Children in the heart of the world’s worst humanitarian disaster need help more than ever, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday, in an appeal for more support to provide basic services in Yemen.
Invest in humanitarian relief now, to limit possible ‘catastrophic’ impact of coronavirus
Tue, 09 Jun 2020 16:52:29 -0400
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) heard strong appeals on Tuesday for more funds to be steered into the UN’s COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan, as it opened its annual Humanitarian Affairs Segment – the first to be held via video-teleconference.
Conflict-hit Nigerian families living under COVID-19 lockdowns, on ‘life-support’
Tue, 09 Jun 2020 10:53:37 -0400
Help and funding are needed urgently for millions of people in Nigeria who have been hit severely by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including conflict-hit communities “on life-support” in the north-east, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
Yemen: ‘Hanging on by a thread’, UN chief requests funding to meet staggering humanitarian crisis
Tue, 02 Jun 2020 13:13:49 -0400
More than five years of conflict have left Yemenis “hanging on by a thread, their economy in tatters” and their institutions “facing near-collapse”, the UN chief told a virtual pledging conference on Tuesday, calling for a demonstration of solidarity with some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.
FROM THE FIELD: COVID-19-related ‘tragedy’ unfolding in Yemen
Mon, 01 Jun 2020 12:29:48 -0400
A “tragedy” fueled by the spread of COVID-19 which is unfolding in Yemen could affect millions of people there, an international UN-backed pledging conference is expected to hear on Tuesday.
Life and death for Yemen’s women and girls, as funding evaporates
Sat, 30 May 2020 22:00:07 -0400
In mid-May, just as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Yemen, funding for UNFPA’s life-saving reproductive health services dried up. The agency has been forced to suspend the provision of reproductive healthcare in 140 out of the 180 health facilities, it supports, meaning only 40 now remain.
Yemen: Amid spike in COVID-19 cases, UNICEF airlifts in badly needed health supplies
Sat, 30 May 2020 11:04:31 -0400
A plane chartered by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) landed at Sana’a airport on Saturday with lifesaving supplies to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in conflict-torn Yemen.
Latin America and Caribbean: Millions more could miss meals due to COVID-19 pandemic
Thu, 28 May 2020 15:51:17 -0400
Some 14 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean could experience severe food insecurity this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to projections released on Thursday by the World Food Programme (WFP).
Yemen: Humanitarians seeking $2.41 billion to keep aid flowing amid COVID-19 pandemic
Thu, 28 May 2020 12:55:50 -0400
UN agencies and their global partners are seeking $2.41 billion to fight COVID-19 spread in Yemen while continuing to support millions affected by the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
COVID-19: A ‘new and deadly threat’ for civilians caught up in violence
Wed, 27 May 2020 13:19:35 -0400
Innocent civilians trapped in violence now face “a new and deadly threat” from COVID-19, the UN chief told the Security Council on Wednesday, warning that the pandemic is “amplifying and exploiting the fragilities of our world”.
Yemen aid lifeline near ‘breaking point’: UN food agency
Tue, 26 May 2020 12:35:25 -0400
Humanitarian aid projects to war-torn Yemen are reaching breaking point, and some $870 million is needed to continue giving life-saving assistance to millions of vulnerable people for the next six months, the World Food Programme (WFP), warned on Tuesday.
