Dr. Thieren spent almost two weeks travelling across the country to meet with survivors, authorities and families of more than 200 hostages held captive in Gaza. WHO offered humanitarian support to Israel’s health response immediately after the attacks. At the time, Israel’s Health Ministry replied that the system was coping, but that it would not…
Water is crucial to rice farmers and when it is lacking, they tend to rely on groundwater. Globally, water taken from underground reservoirs supports 40 per cent of agriculture, but if groundwater levels fall, it becomes harder to reach over time. In Punjab known by some as India’s breadbasket, groundwater is being depleted faster than…
Some 100,000 refugees have arrived in Armenia since the end of September and many have received support from the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM). Here are some of their stories. Ophelia Aghajanyan Ophelia Aghajanyan: We are pensioners. My husband, who used to be a soldier, is a disabled man. My son as well. My sister’s…
Montserrat Xilotl, a Regional Technical Advisor in Climate Change Adaptation for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), explains why. Montserrat Xilotl, Regional Technical Advisor in Climate Change Adaptation for the UN Development Programme (UNDP). “Forests are nature’s water filters and storage systems. When rain falls, the trees, and vegetation capture and absorb it, allowing it to…
Having previously endured conflict in Afghanistan, Ali comprehended the far-reaching implications of large-scale military actions on the lives of civilians. Immediately after the start of the Ukraine war, Ali and his wife, the owners of a small clothing store in Odessa, began to engage in relief work and donate clothes to people who had been…
“I’m in Kyiv, ending a fast-paced visit to IOM operations in Ukraine and Moldova. Sirens awoke me, and I was rushed to a bunker in my hotel. Yes, I was scared, but that’s not why I’m writing this. I now have a glimpse into what millions of Ukrainians, and all of my staff here have…
The then New York-based Elpida Rouka had accompanied the Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme on a mission to Baghdad and survived the deadly explosion which killed 22 of her UN colleagues. The 19 August attack is commemorated annually by World Humanitarian Day. “A young 25-year-old barely two years into the UN at…
Khaled Mansour, now a writer and journalist, was the WFP spokesperson in Iraq at the time and narrowly missed the massive explosion which killed 22 of his UN colleagues. On World Humanitarian Day which was established to mark the 19 August attack, he reflects on his life since and what he has learnt. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré…
Laura Dolci’s husband, Jean-Selim Kanaan, had been deployed by the UN Office for Project Services to work as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq. Twenty years after the attack and to mark World Humanitarian Day which is commemorated annually on 19 August, she remembers her husband. “In the terrorist attack against…
She is currently deployed with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, to the north of her country, supporting refugees who are fleeing conflict in Sudan. She has been speaking to UN News ahead of World Humanitarian Day which is commemorated annually on 19 August. “Saving lives became a passion of mine when I was 15. One of…
