“They used to shelter inside the school yard here, inside the classrooms, using all the external space. Now there’s nothing left. Everybody evacuated very quickly,” said Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Communications Officer. Writing in a social media post on X that abandoned children’s shoes were “everywhere” at the school, the UNRWA officer also pointed to rubble…
Mr. Guterres was saddened by the loss of life and damage caused by flash flooding in the capital, Nairobi, and other parts of the country, his spokesperson said on Monday. The Secretary-General extended his condolences and solidarity to the families of the victims and to the people and Government of Kenya. On Monday, rescue teams…
“This is the most dangerous period; once people start returning to the north, that’s when most accidents will occur, because they won’t be familiar with where your unexploded ordnance is located,” said Mungo Birch, Chief of the UN Mine Action Programme (UNMAS) in the State of Palestine. “It’s important that once the returns start, we’re…
In the past month, WFP supported more than 300,000 people there with food, including 40,000 in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state. “We must be able to reach those who need us most in Sudan,” Executive Director Cindy McCain wrote in a post on social media. Separately, UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Martin Griffiths…
The current El Niño event began in mid- to late 2023, causing the ocean’s temperature to rise, and its impact has already decimated farming in southern Africa, triggering crop shortfalls and rising commodity prices. At the same time, flooding in Kenya has affected 200,000 people and killed more than 100 people. Around 40 to 50…
Dennis Francis was speaking at an event to mark the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo. The landmark conference concluded with a Programme of Action, adopted by 179 governments, that put reproductive rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women, girls and young people at the heart of development…
The call comes amid reports of an imminent offensive by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militia against the city, which could threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced persons currently sheltering there. At least 43 people, among them women and children, have been killed in fighting between the Sudanese Armed…
In a note to correspondents issued on Friday, the UN said there were “increasingly alarming reports of a dramatic escalation of tensions”. “The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are reportedly encircling El Fasher, suggesting a coordinated move to attack the city may be imminent. Simultaneously, the Sudanese Armed Forces appear to be positioning themselves”, the statement…
According to media reports, over 220 civilians – including 56 children – were killed in attacks reportedly carried out by the military in two villages on a single day in late February. Furthermore, at least two international media outlets – the BBC and Voice of America – have been “temporarily suspended” in the past few…
Pehr Lodhammar, a senior officer from the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), said that the war has left an estimated 37 million tonnes of debris. He said it was impossible to determine the exact amount of unexploded ordnance in the enclave where formerly heavily built-up and densely populated neighbourhoods have been reduced to rubble,…
