Relief News Updates
UN News - Humanitarian Aid
UN News - Humanitarian Aid
Coronavirus restrictions hamper aid access for Sudanese in need
Fri, 03 Apr 2020 16:49:39 -0400
The United Nations and its partners are putting in place alternative plans to ensure the continuity of humanitarian assistance in Sudan, as measures taken by the Government to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are having an impact on aid access, deliveries and services.
COVID-19 crisis ‘unlike any we have dealt with’, as new tragedy looms for Syria
Thu, 02 Apr 2020 14:56:18 -0400
The risk of the COVID-19 pandemic having a devastating impact on war-torn Syria is intensifying, where six million are displaced, living in conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to the deadly virus, the Senior Humanitarian Advisor to the UN Special Envoy to Syria warned on Thursday.
Burkina Faso crisis and COVID-19 concerns highlight pressure on Sahel food security
Thu, 02 Apr 2020 14:10:54 -0400
Food insecurity levels in the Sahel region are “spiralling out of control”, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday, as it expressed concerns about the potential impact on humanitarian supply chains because of restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
UN helps Pacific prepare for COVID-19 pandemic, warns that children are ‘hidden victims’
Mon, 30 Mar 2020 12:30:04 -0400
United Nations agencies are working together to provide vital support to Pacific Island countries as they rally to combat COVID-19 outbreaks across the region.
UNFPA advocates for women, girls suffering unseen impacts of COVID-19 pandemic
Fri, 27 Mar 2020 13:47:15 -0400
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is pledging support for those suffering from invisible impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including women and girls whose access to life-saving sexual and reproductive health care may be disrupted.
UN launches major humanitarian appeal to keep COVID-19 from ‘circling back around the globe’
Wed, 25 Mar 2020 13:00:53 -0400
To confront the unprecedented worldwide challenge posed by the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, top UN officials on Wednesday, launched a massive humanitarian appeal to mitigate its impact, particularly on fragile countries with weak health systems.
UNICEF sounds alarm over water cuts in Syria as efforts ramp up to prevent COVID-19 spread
Mon, 23 Mar 2020 18:20:59 -0400
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its relief partners in Syria are warning that water disruptions in the country’s war-battered north-east could exacerbate risks posed by the global coronavirus pandemic.
UNHCR delivers much-needed aid to Sudanese refugees in Chad
Fri, 20 Mar 2020 15:24:00 -0400
Nearly 94 tonnes of emergency aid has been airlifted into Chad to support thousands of people who have fled ongoing violence in Sudan’s West Darfur state, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Friday.
UN aid teams work round the clock amid COVID-19 pandemic to ensure humanitarian support to millions
Fri, 20 Mar 2020 15:14:21 -0400
As the global humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues at breakneck speed, UN assistance remains critical for some 100 hundred million people living in emergency situations, and life-saving food aid is essential for 87 million people across the world.
Women plough the way to peace in South Sudan resettlement project
Wed, 18 Mar 2020 16:47:17 -0400
Women who had been displaced by fighting in South Sudan are sowing seeds of peace, with support from the UN mission in the country, UNMISS.
COVID-19: Mental health in the age of coronavirus
Mon, 16 Mar 2020 16:04:06 -0400
Since January when the World Health Organization (WHO) determined the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, to be a “public health emergency of international concern”, stress levels everywhere have continued to mount.
Syria: ‘The tragedy is deepening’ as UN figures reveal nearly 5 million children have known nothing but war
Sat, 14 Mar 2020 20:25:03 -0400
Syria marks a grim milestone this weekend as the tenth year of war begins, prompting the UN Special Envoy to take stock of the incomprehensible scale of suffering there, noting that with nearly a million newly displaced in Idlib, “the tragedy is deepening”.
Many Mozambicans still struggling to get back on their feet, one year after cyclone
Fri, 13 Mar 2020 17:21:24 -0400
Many of the people who lost everything when Cyclone Idai swept through central Mozambique a year ago, continue to face devastating hardship, the UN food relief agency said on Friday.
As Syrian conflict enters 10th year, ‘brutal truth’ is, there is little protection for families
Fri, 13 Mar 2020 14:54:31 -0400
Although a fragile ceasefire agreed in northwest Syria is still holding, UN humanitarians on Friday warned of dire conditions for hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by conflict, now in its tenth year.
De-escalate now, to steer Yemen off ‘precarious path’, UN Security Council hears
Thu, 12 Mar 2020 16:35:02 -0400
Yemen is at a “critical juncture”, the UN Special Envoy for the country told the Security Council on Thursday. Speaking via video-link, Martin Griffiths said that the combatants will either move towards de-escalation or greater violence, which would make “the path to the negotiating table more arduous”.
War in Syria: 'Carnage', flouting of rights and international law, must stop: Guterres
Thu, 12 Mar 2020 10:54:28 -0400
UN agencies have underscored their commitment to continue supporting civilians affected by the war in Syria, which this month enters its tenth year. The Secretary-General issued a statement on Thursday, declaring that "we cannot allow the tenth year to result in the same carnage, the same flouting of human rights and international humanitarian law."
Guterres calls for ‘immediate and lasting’ end to Syria fighting as Turkey and Russia agree ceasefire
Thu, 05 Mar 2020 16:27:47 -0500
The UN Secretary-General said on Thursday that he hoped the latest ceasefire agreement between Russia and Turkey to end fighting across Syria’s stricken Idlib region, would finally lead to “an immediate and lasting cessation”, that would protect civilian lives.
Syria: UN food relief agency ‘doing everything we can’ to reach Idlib civilians
Wed, 04 Mar 2020 17:03:39 -0500
Difficult winter weather conditions, road congestion and military manoeuvres are restricting humanitarian aid delivery to desperate civilians in the Syrian province of Idlib, where a Government operation to weed out extremists has uprooted nearly one million people since December.
Yemen: UN Population Fund stresses women’s needs, amidst world’s worst humanitarian crisis
Wed, 04 Mar 2020 11:25:58 -0500
Intense clashes in Yemen’s Al Hazam City, this month have caused massive displacement with an estimated 1,800 families forced to flee their homes, according to a flash update from UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA.
UN ‘determined to stand by the people of Syria’ says Lowcock, as grave humanitarian crisis intensifies around Idlib
Tue, 03 Mar 2020 11:28:39 -0500
The United Nations is “determined to stand by” civilians across Syria’s war-torn northwest, as “a grave humanitarian crisis” continues, the UN emergency relief chief said on Tuesday.
As children freeze to death in Syria, aid officials call for major cross-border delivery boost
Mon, 02 Mar 2020 12:57:23 -0500
Humanitarian assistance needs to be scaled up significantly to more than a million people displaced by fighting in northwest Syria, a senior UN aid official said on Monday, amid reports that children are freezing to death on the Turkish border.
Syria: UN urges Russia and Turkey to secure ‘fresh ceasefire’ as risk of military escalation grows
Fri, 28 Feb 2020 17:32:43 -0500
With the Security Council meeting in emergency session on Syria following the death on the battlefield of dozens of Turkish troops, the UN strongly urged Russia and Turkey on Friday “to build on previous agreements to secure a fresh ceasefire” across the war-torn northwest.
‘Mayhem’ in Syria’s Idlib amid ongoing violence, as Guterres urges immediate ceasefire
Fri, 28 Feb 2020 12:04:42 -0500
Rapidly escalating conflict in northwest Syria has created healthcare “mayhem”, amid reports of displaced people moving closer to the Turkish border in search of shelter, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, as the UN Secretary-General appealed for all warring parties to "step back from the edge of further escalation."
Cross-border aid delivery in northwest Syria ‘absolutely essential’, Security Council hears
Thu, 27 Feb 2020 13:48:10 -0500
Cross-border humanitarian deliveries from Turkey last month reached more people in northwest Syria than at any time since operations began more than five years ago, the UN’s Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Thursday.
One in three Venezuelans not getting enough to eat, UN study finds
Tue, 25 Feb 2020 17:07:50 -0500
Hyperinflation in Venezuela means that roughly one-third of the population – more than nine million people – do not get enough to eat and are in need of assistance, according to estimates published on Tuesday by the World Food Programme (WFP).
UN chief appeals for end to Syria’s ‘man-made humanitarian nightmare’
Fri, 21 Feb 2020 15:04:50 -0500
In a tersely delivered statement on Friday, the UN Secretary-General appealed for an end to the “man-made humanitarian nightmare” currently unfolding in Syria, where ongoing military operations in the north-west have displaced hundreds of thousands amid bitter winter temperatures.
Millions of children and families in Niger struggle as humanitarian needs mount – UNICEF
Wed, 19 Feb 2020 15:05:05 -0500
Malnutrition, disease, floods, droughts and displacement in Niger have put nearly three million people, more than half of them children, in need of humanitarian assistance, UNICEF said on Wednesday, calling for increased attention to their plight.
Amid ‘devastating scale’ of suffering in Syria’s north-west, UN Security Council urged to find political way forward
Wed, 19 Feb 2020 13:44:22 -0500
With progress stalled on both the peace and political fronts in Syria, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen urged ambassadors in the Security Council on Wednesday to “put their weight” into finding a solution to end nearly nine years of conflict.
Yemen: Recent uptick in fighting contradicts desire for peace
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 14:29:23 -0500
A recent escalation in fighting between warring parties in Yemen contradicts their stated desire to peacefully end nearly five years of conflict, UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths said in a briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday.
As north-west Syria violence reaches ‘horrifying’ new level, UN relief chief says ceasefire is only option
Mon, 17 Feb 2020 15:54:49 -0500
The crisis in north-west Syria has reached a “horrifying new level”, the UN Humanitarian Affairs chief warned on Monday.