Speaking on behalf of Secretary-General António Guterres, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said the UN and partners were continuing to deliver “critical humanitarian assistance”, focusing on communities on the frontlines, but there is “growing concern about the decrease in humanitarian funding amidst the significant scale of need.” Infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, energy and water systems, continue…
That was the strong message from President of the Western Pacific nation of Palau Surangel Whipps speaking at an Interactive Dialogue on Wednesday during the Fourth International Conference on SIDS (SIDS4), taking place this week on the twin island of Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean. He told delegates there needed to be a “transition…
Laura Lo Castro, UNHCR‘s representative in Chad, said that expected rains have started in Adre, leaving tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees without shelter suitable for protection. The rains also impede humanitarian access due to catastrophic flooding, she added. “It’s paramount that we scale up the response now and immediately relocate as many refugees as…
Nine years of war have left over half the population – 18.2 million people, mainly women and children – in need of assistance and protection services. The humanitarian response in Yemen is among the largest in the world, yet a $2.7 billion plan for the country has received just $435 million to date. Lifesaving aid…
“The agency will no longer have funding as of the end of February, so that means our operations would come to a halt during March,” said Dorothee Klaus, UNRWA Director in Lebanon, describing the “severe impact” of fresh budget cuts. The funding crisis stemmed from Israel’s allegations that a dozen agency staff were involved in…
“It’s difficult to imagine that Gazans will survive this crisis without UNRWA…“(we) have received reports that people in the area are grinding bird feed to make flour,” said Thomas White, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza and UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Citing “colossal” needs now facing over two million people…
Despite ongoing Israeli bombardment prompted by Hamas-led attacks on 7 October that left some 1,200 dead in Israel and more than 250 hostages, UNRWA continues to provide lifesaving aid in Gaza to more than two million civilians. The war has killed at least 26,637 Palestinians in Gaza and left 65,387 injured, according to the enclave’s…
In a statement on Sunday, the UN chief said that the Organization is promptly responding to the extremely serious allegations that several UNRWA personnel were involved in the 7 October terror attacks in southern Israel. An investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the highest investigative body in the UN system, was immediately…
It was “shocking” to see the suspension of funds in reaction to allegations against a small group of staff, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner General, said in a statement. “It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an Agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time…
Among them is young Senegalese singer and rapper Oumy Gueye, who goes by OMG and was triggered to embrace climate action when her grandparents’ home in Bargny east of the Senegalese capital Dakar was destroyed by rising seas. She has been collaborating with UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA to advocate for humanitarian causes in the Sahel…
