United Nations

Hostilities between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza are intensifying as a devastating ground offensive looms, creating a limited opportunity for humanitarians to bring in shelter items, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reported on Tuesday. 

This Tuesday, the UN honoured fallen colleagues and reminded the world that aid workers should never be a target, as 2024 saw a shocking new record of 383 aid workers killed. 

Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, briefed the Security Council’s open debate on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on Tuesday, presenting the Secretary-General’s annual report and stressing the need to support survivors in conflict zones where services are increasingly inaccessible. 

The small trickle of aid entering Gaza is totally insufficient to alleviate starvation and displacement in the Strip, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

Before Pedro Matos joined the World Food Programme (WFP) for 17 years, he said his job in space engineering just “wasn’t enough”.

With the news on Tuesday that a record 383 aid workers were confirmed killed in the line of duty last year, one veteran UN aid worker based in Gaza reaffirmed the resolve of humanitarians everywhere to save lives and relieve suffering, no matter how challenging the situation.

As gang violence across Haiti escalates, and the United States and other donors reduce their humanitarian funding, 1.3 million people who have fled their homes are facing the direst of consequences.

Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martha Pobee, briefed the Security Council on the deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions in South Sudan on Monday.

Nepal has eliminated rubella as a public health problem, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday, hailing the breakthrough as a “remarkable achievement”.

UN aid worker Viktoriia Tiutiunnyk embodies the resilience and compassion driving humanitarian efforts on the frontlines of the battle for Ukraine. Displaced from the Luhansk region following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, she now helps others to navigate the trauma of displacement.

In western Gaza City, displaced people live crammed into cramped tents, and a human tragedy is unfolding across a landscape of hunger.

A senior UN official on Friday warned of mounting civilian casualties and worsening humanitarian conditions in Ukraine, as a wave of Russian missile and drone strikes this week killed dozens and injured scores across multiple regions – including pregnant women and children.

As Gaza faces famine-like conditions, large numbers of people reportedly continue to be killed and injured while searching for food, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday. 

Nearly 3.2 million people in the English and Dutch-Speaking Caribbean struggle to get enough to eat, according to the latest Food Security and Livelihoods Survey conducted by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). 

The UN Security Council meets Friday afternoon to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, where recent attacks have left dozens dead or injured. A senior UN political affairs official is expected to brief on the situation. Follow our live coverage from UN News, in coordination with UN Meetings Coverage, for real-time updates and key developments from the chamber. UN News App users can follow the coverage here.

Two gangs in Haiti took over a radio station in April. They broadcasted propaganda and played hip-hop supportive of their activities. Upon leaving, they took all the equipment with them and burned down a nearby market — a reminder that armed violence in Haiti is not only taking people’s lives but also destroying their livelihoods.  

Sub-Saharan Africa has taken a cautious but critical step toward greater health self-reliance as locally produced HIV medicines and diagnostic tests begin reaching national programmes – including, for the first time, procurement of African-made treatment for Mozambique.

Despite Israel’s 27 July announcement of daily military pauses in western Gaza “to improve humanitarian responses,” Israeli forces continued attacks along food convoy routes and near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid sites, according to the UN human rights office in Palestine (OHCHR). 

Millions of lives have been improved by the mandates assigned to the UN. Yet duplication, fragmentation and outdated tasks are stretching resources and undermining the organization’s ability to deliver for those who need it most. As part of the UN80 Initiative, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has presented a set of proposals to Member States to make the UN more efficient, coherent and impactful.

In early August, Heads of State, ministers, investors and grassroots leaders will gather in Awaza on Turkmenistan’s Caspian coast for once-in-a-decade UN conference aiming to rewire the global system in support of 32 landlocked developing countries whose economies are often “locked out” of opportunity due to their lack of access to the sea.