Relief News Updates
UN News - Humanitarian Aid
UN News - Humanitarian Aid
Security Council beats midnight deadline, renews Syria cross-border aid in contentious vote
Fri, 10 Jan 2020 19:45:38 -0500
The Security Council on Friday evening renewed a UN operation delivering humanitarian aid across the Syrian border to millions of civilians, but some of the body’s members expressed disappointment that the “watered down” measure cut in half the number of crossing points and duration of the authorization.
Killings and violence targeting ethnic group in DR Congo ‘may amount to crimes against humanity’
Fri, 10 Jan 2020 11:34:56 -0500
The targeting of the Hema community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with violence, including killings and rape, may amount to crimes against humanity, said the UN on Friday.
Security Council calls for dialogue in Haiti
Thu, 09 Jan 2020 11:49:41 -0500
The UN Security Council has stressed the need to resolve the ongoing political impasse in Haiti between President Jovenel Moïse and a surging opposition movement.
Sudan: Intercommunal clashes displace tens of thousands in volatile Darfur region
Tue, 07 Jan 2020 14:28:27 -0500
Around 40,000 have been displaced in Sudan’s West Darfur State in recent days, following intercommunal clashes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday, citing Sudanese Government data.
Syria: Civilians face ‘daily nightmare’ in Idlib, says top UN official
Tue, 07 Jan 2020 10:48:13 -0500
Following a sharp escalation of hostilities in southern Idlib, “at least 300,000 civilians have fled their homes” since mid-December, the UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria crisis said on Tuesday, voicing concern for their well-being.
UN envoy appeals for other nations to ‘keep out of Libya’
Mon, 06 Jan 2020 16:42:00 -0500
The top UN official in Libya has delivered a stern message urging other nations to stop intervening in the country’s ongoing crisis.
Australia bushfire crisis: UNICEF offers help and support
Mon, 06 Jan 2020 13:28:12 -0500
Raging bushfires wreaking havoc across Australia have prompted the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, to offer its support to the Australian Government and its partners which are battling the “unprecedented disaster”.
UN Libya Mission strongly condemns bombing of military academy, at least 30 dead
Sun, 05 Jan 2020 12:21:56 -0500
The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), on Sunday strongly condemned the bombing of a military academy in the capital Tripoli, which according to news reports left at least 30 dead and more than 30 others wounded.
Nearly 300,000 Syrians displaced from Idlib since mid-December, Security Council hears
Fri, 03 Jan 2020 16:13:50 -0500
Amidst concern for the safety and protection of more than three million civilians in Syria’s last rebel-held enclave, the UN’s most senior humanitarian and political affairs officials briefed the Security Council on Syria behind closed doors on Friday.
Sudan urged to step up protection, restore peace, following West Darfur violence
Fri, 03 Jan 2020 15:05:03 -0500
Authorities in Sudan are being urged to restore peace and order in the wake of intercommunal clashes in West Darfur state which erupted on Sunday and left 65 people dead, 54 injured, and thousands displaced.
Son of slain UN aid worker in South Sudan freed and reunited with father
Fri, 03 Jan 2020 13:05:44 -0500
The abducted four-year-old son of a UN migration agency worker who was killed in South Sudan in October has been released and reunited with his father during an emotional reunion in the capital Juba on Friday.
FROM THE FIELD: Facing up to crisis in Kassala
Fri, 03 Jan 2020 00:50:04 -0500
An economic crisis in Sudan which has driven up food prices in the African country has contributed to an increase in the number of people needing aid; that’s according to the UN’s humanitarian affairs agency, OCHA.
Sub-Saharan Africa faces grave hunger challenges in 2020: UN food relief agency
Tue, 31 Dec 2019 12:40:20 -0500
At the dawn of the next decade, a new World Food Programme (WFP) forecast of global hunger hotspots has revealed that escalating hunger will challenge sub-Saharan Africa in the first half of 2020.
WFP calls for increased support as eight million in Zimbabwe face hunger
Mon, 30 Dec 2019 12:53:21 -0500
The World Food Programme (WFP) is calling on countries to step up support to Zimbabwe, where millions of people are facing hunger brought on by prolonged drought and economic meltdown.
Haiti: Food insecurity expected to rise next year, UN humanitarian agency reports
Fri, 27 Dec 2019 16:15:49 -0500
The number of Haitians who do not have sufficient food to eat is expected to surpass four million next year, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said on Friday.
The 2010 – 2020 UN News Decade in Review, part three
Fri, 27 Dec 2019 01:00:12 -0500
The final part of our look back over the past decade takes in the launch of the 2030 Agenda, the UN’s blueprint for a better future for all; the humanitarian response to the Rohingya refugee crisis; the successful end to the mandate of the UN Liberia Mission; and fresh momentum in the fight against the climate crisis, despite disappointment over the COP25 climate conference in Madrid.
UN chief urges action following execution, abduction of civilians in Nigeria
Tue, 24 Dec 2019 15:31:06 -0500
Those responsible for the recent execution and abduction of civilians in northeastern Nigeria must be held accountable, the UN Secretary-General has said, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by his spokesperson.
Amidst uptick in violence and displacement, UN chief calls for ‘immediate cessation of hostilities’ in Syria
Tue, 24 Dec 2019 10:36:14 -0500
“Deeply concerned” over a recent military escalation in northwest Syria, Secretary-General António Guterres called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities”.
UN relief chief condemns attacks against humanitarian premises in Yemen
Mon, 23 Dec 2019 16:33:45 -0500
The top UN humanitarian official has called for a thorough investigation into weekend attacks against the premises of three international aid organizations in Yemen that wounded one person, in addition to damaging property.
Friday’s Daily Brief: Pope Francis, Lesotho, Iran, world corruption
Fri, 20 Dec 2019 16:23:53 -0500
Our top stories for Friday include: Pope Francis receives the UN chief in Rome, Lesotho famine threat, concern for jailed Iranian protestors, and strengthened global action to prevent corruption.
Lesotho: Tens of thousands ‘one step away from famine’ as drought impacts harvests and UN launches flash appeal
Fri, 20 Dec 2019 10:24:16 -0500
Devastating drought in the southern African nation of Lesotho has left more than half a million people facing severe food shortages and tens of thousands “one step away from famine”, UN humanitarians said on Friday, in an appeal for funds.
Life for civilians in Syria ‘worse than when the year began’
Thu, 19 Dec 2019 14:06:17 -0500
The humanitarian situation facing civilians in many parts of Syria is “worse than when the year began”, the UN deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Thursday.
South Sudan: political will needed to form a unified government, on the road to peace
Tue, 17 Dec 2019 17:32:07 -0500
Extending the deadline for the establishment of a unity government in South Sudan has helped maintain a ceasefire but also disillusioned many citizens, the Security Council heard on Tuesday.
Nine children killed or maimed in Afghanistan every day: UN Children’s Fund
Tue, 17 Dec 2019 00:50:05 -0500
An average of nine children have been killed or maimed every day in Afghanistan so far this year, according to a new report from the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, which describes the country as “the world’s most lethal warzone”.
Monday’s Daily Brief: anti-corruption conference, refugees’ summit, food extremes, Yemen aid
Mon, 16 Dec 2019 15:00:24 -0500
Our top stories for Monday include: major international conference on anti-corruption underway; first ever Global Refugee Forum kicks off; global undernutrition and obesity crisis laid bare; food aid in Yemen; the power of youth to end hunger.
Bold, innovative measures for refugees and their hosts sought, at first ever Global Forum
Mon, 16 Dec 2019 11:01:08 -0500
As refugee numbers approach 26 million, heads of state, top UN diplomats, powerful figures from the private sector and civil society are heading to Geneva to agree on “bold, new” ways to help, at the first ever Global Refugee Forum, which got underway on Monday.
A year on from Yemen talks breakthrough, top UN Envoy hails ‘shift’ towards peace, despite setbacks
Fri, 13 Dec 2019 09:46:36 -0500
When warring parties in Yemen met in a renovated castle outside the Swedish capital last December for UN-brokered talks, they showed that perhaps there could be a way out of brutal conflict and the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the UN Special Envoy for the country said this week.
Unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Mali revealed in new report
Thu, 12 Dec 2019 17:03:51 -0500
Escalating violence and insecurity in Mali have sparked an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, rendering 3.9 million people in need of assistance and protection – an increase of 700,000 since the beginning of the year, the UN said on Thursday.
Thursday’s Daily Brief: South Sudan floods, Somalis leave Yemen, LATAM economic slowdown
Thu, 12 Dec 2019 16:58:18 -0500
In today’s Daily Brief: Flooding could push millions in South Sudan into humanitarian crisis, Somalis return home from war-torn Yemen; historically low growth in Latin American and Caribbean economies; UN’s top court will deliberate on Myanmar genocide accusations; and alpinism’s classified a “cultural treasure”.
South Sudan famine threat: UN food security agency in ‘race against time’
Thu, 12 Dec 2019 11:08:42 -0500
The World Food Programme (WFP) is warning against potential famine in South Sudan as hunger deepens due to drought, floods and an uncertain political future.