Relief News Updates
UN News - Humanitarian Aid
UN News - Humanitarian Aid
Syria: Economic decline, rising hunger and surging humanitarian needs
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 12:42:28 -0500
Syria’s fragile economy has “suffered multiple shocks” over the past 18 months, with its currency plummeting and joblessness swelling as people struggle to cover their basic needs, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Thursday.
FROM THE FIELD: Millions of Yemenis facing ‘death sentence’
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 00:30:05 -0500
Yemen remains the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and the situation for the millions of affected people is deteriorating, says the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
UN to review deadly convoy attack in DR Congo which led to Italian Ambassador’s death
Tue, 23 Feb 2021 15:59:02 -0500
The World Food Programme (WFP) has provided further information on the deadly convoy attack in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday in which Italy’s Ambassador to the country, his bodyguard, and a WFP driver were killed.
Climate crisis and economic shocks leave millions food insecure across Central America
Tue, 23 Feb 2021 15:46:12 -0500
Reporting that hunger has increased almost fourfold in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in the past two years, the World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday warned that 1.7 million people are in the ‘emergency’ category of food insecurity, calling for $47.3 million now, to provide urgent food assistance.
FROM THE FIELD: Poor and vulnerable bear brunt of climate change
Tue, 23 Feb 2021 00:30:05 -0500
People living in low-income countries are at least four times more likely to be displaced by extreme weather compared to people in rich countries, despite being the least responsible for climate change, that’s according to the UN’s humanitarian office, OCHA.
DR Congo: Lives and futures of three million children at risk, UNICEF warns
Fri, 19 Feb 2021 05:07:06 -0500
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on Friday, highlighted the dire situation of some three million displaced children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who face brutal militia violence and extreme hunger.
Five million Yemenis ‘one step away from famine’– UN relief coordinator tells Security Council
Thu, 18 Feb 2021 17:47:53 -0500
Malnutrition rates in Yemen are at “record highs” as the country is “speeding towards the worst famine the world has seen in decades”, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Thursday, citing newly released data.
Food insecurity in Syria reaches record levels: WFP
Wed, 17 Feb 2021 16:05:45 -0500
The number of Syrians who lack access to sufficient food has reached a record 12.4 million, or nearly 60 per cent of the population, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Wednesday, citing “alarming” new national data.
‘Triple threat’ adds to long-standing crises menacing food security in Somalia – FAO
Wed, 17 Feb 2021 12:41:45 -0500
Poor rainfall, flooding and desert locusts are contributing to extreme food insecurity in Somalia, threating 2.6 million people, the UN agriculture agency said in a new analysis released on Wednesday.
New guidelines put youth at the forefront of humanitarian response
Tue, 16 Feb 2021 16:07:58 -0500
New guidelines published on Tuesday by the UN and partners aim to put young people at the forefront of humanitarian action.
Burundi: UN refugee agency appeals for over $220 million in ‘crucial’ support
Tue, 16 Feb 2021 15:34:53 -0500
An urgent appeal for $222.6 million was made on Tuesday by the UN refugee agency and partners to assist more than 315,000 Burundian refugees this year.
'We had to run for our lives’: The pregnant women fleeing Tigray
Tue, 16 Feb 2021 09:45:36 -0500
Pregnant women are amongst the tens of thousands of people in need of assistance in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where fighting between the Government and regional forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have been ongoing since November 2020. Hiwot* is one of them.
Yemen: ‘Toxic mix’ imperils lives of under-fives with acute malnutrition
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 11:52:24 -0500
Since the escalation of conflict in 2015, severe acute malnutrition is among its highest levels in Yemen, threating the lives of half of the country’s children under the age of five, four UN agencies warned on Friday.
Ethiopia: ‘Incomplete but troubling picture’ reveals impact of Tigray crisis on children
Fri, 12 Feb 2021 11:21:37 -0500
Humanitarians are learning more about the dire situation of children in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where fighting continues between Government troops and regional forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Without ‘constructive international diplomacy’ Syria’s peace process will not move forward
Tue, 09 Feb 2021 17:00:22 -0500
The UN Special Envoy for Syria said there had to be “constructive international diplomacy” if the peace process is to move forward in any way, appearing before the Security Council behind closed doors on Tuesday.
Ethiopia: Government approves ‘first step’ towards Tigray emergency assistance
Mon, 08 Feb 2021 17:04:39 -0500
UN agencies have received approval from the Ethiopian Government for 25 international staff to provide humanitarian assistance inside the country’s conflict-torn Tigray region, the UN Spokesperson said on Monday.
UN stands ready to support relief, in aftermath of deadly India flash floods
Mon, 08 Feb 2021 03:03:40 -0500
The United Nations stands ready, if necessary, to contribute to ongoing rescue and assistance efforts, following a glacier burst and subsequent flash flooding in northern India, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Sunday.
Rapid scale up crucial to meet humanitarian needs in Ethiopia’s Tigray: Joint UN-Government mission
Sun, 07 Feb 2021 08:45:49 -0500
A joint United Nations-Government of Ethiopia mission to Mekelle in the country’s Tigray region, on Saturday, underscored the need for strong partnership to rapidly scale up a Government-led collective response to meet immediate humanitarian needs in the region.
FROM THE FIELD: Sharing migration stories across generations in Central America
Sat, 06 Feb 2021 23:00:06 -0500
Two migrants, one young and one old, have been sharing their experiences of migrating to a small town in Costa Rica in Central America.
FROM THE FIELD: Chicken wings, hunger and the Super Bowl
Sat, 06 Feb 2021 10:25:06 -0500
The amount of money spent on food and beverages to enjoy, perhaps, the United States’ most high-profile annual sporting event, adds up to more than twice the global budget of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), according to the agency.
Aid agencies renew appeals for aid access to all areas in Ethiopia’s Tigray
Fri, 05 Feb 2021 10:27:08 -0500
The UN renewed appeals on Friday for humanitarian access to all areas of Ethiopia’s troubled Tigray region to help people displaced fighting, forcing the most desperate to eat leaves to survive.
Afghanistan: Detainee torture allegations remain ‘alarming’, UN report reveals
Wed, 03 Feb 2021 17:01:25 -0500
Torture claims among people detained for security or terrorism-related offences in Afghanistan remain high, according to a new UN human rights report published on Wednesday.
Urgent steps needed to alleviate suffering in Ethiopia’s Tigray region: Guterres
Wed, 03 Feb 2021 06:54:31 -0500
The United Nations Secretary-General, on Tuesday, voiced grave concerns over the crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and underscored the need for urgent efforts to protect populations at risk.
Syria floods: Humanitarians working ‘round the clock’ to provide urgent relief
Fri, 29 Jan 2021 13:23:28 -0500
Humanitarian staff have been working “round the clock” to reopen access roads and provide emergency relief from the disastrous impact that recent floods have unleased on displaced people living in camps in northwest Syria, the UN’s deputy humanitarian coordinator there said on Friday.
Escalating hostilities in Yemen’s Hudaydah put thousands of civilians at risk
Thu, 28 Jan 2021 09:25:21 -0500
Civilians in Yemen’s Hudaydah Governorate, face a growing threat from escalating clashes, with shelling of residential areas ongoing, endangering thousands.
Tigray’s children in crisis and beyond reach, after months of conflict: UNICEF
Wed, 27 Jan 2021 10:39:12 -0500
Three months since fighting began in Ethiopia’s northern state of Tigray, there’s grave concern for the plight of youngsters there, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF has warned.
Tens of thousands in northwest Syria lose shelter after floods inundate camps
Wed, 27 Jan 2021 06:14:51 -0500
Heavy rains and floods in north-west Syria has worsened the plight of tens of thousands of internally displaced persons, destroying their tents, food and belongings in the midst of winter, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.
Guterres calls for ‘renewed approach to multilateralism’, through new peacebuilding appeal
Tue, 26 Jan 2021 13:26:01 -0500
Against the backdrop of a COVID-19 crisis that has exacerbated pre-pandemic challenges and a global ceasefire appeal to combat it, the UN chief called for new peacebuilding funds on Tuesday, promising a “renewed approach to multilateralism and international cooperation”.
Mozambique: UN responds as thousands are caught in the wake of devastating Cyclone Eloise
Tue, 26 Jan 2021 07:58:31 -0500
UN agencies are ramping up efforts on Tuesday to help communities in Mozambique hit hard by Tropical Cyclone Eloise, which barrelled through the country just three weeks after the devastating Tropical Storm Chalane.
New COVID-19 strains ‘poised to unleash’ more severe infections – Security Council hears
Mon, 25 Jan 2021 14:24:29 -0500
Since September, the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened, infecting close to 100 million people, costing more than $3 trillion in lost wages and intensifying obstacles for peace and security around the world, the UN political chief told the Security Council on Monday.
