In Venezuela, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today said that the UN, along with its partners, continues to deliver aid across the country. This includes food, school meals, healthcare and psychosocial support.
Chad
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UN peacekeepers have resumed Operation Secure Harvest, patrolling a major route in Ituri province to ensure a safe environment for the harvest season and deter potential attacks against farmers and civilians.
In Chad, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator has allocated $1 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund for an urgent response to the deadly cholera outbreak in the country. The funding aims to contain the spread of the disease — mainly by improving access to water and sanitation, and providing medical support.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates 2.5 million refugees worldwide will need to be resettled in 2026, down from 2.9 million in 2025, even as the global number of refugees continues growing. This is mainly due to the changed situation in Syria, which has allowed for voluntary returns.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, François Batalingaya, said today the country is in crisis with the east reaching a breaking point. Floods impacted nearly 2 million people last year; 3 million people are struggling to feed themselves. The $1.4 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 9 per cent funded.
In Chad, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Thomas Fletcher has allocated $2.5 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to urgently respond to the massive influx of refugees and returnees in the east of the country from Sudan. This brings CERF's total allocation to Chad this year to $16 million.
Today in Geneva, Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) formally adopted by consensus the world’s first Pandemic Agreement. The landmark decision culminates more than three years of intensive negotiations launched by Governments in response to the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees is gravely concerned by the rapidly increasing number of Sudanese refugees crossing into eastern Chad due to escalating violence in Sudan’s North Darfur region, with nearly 20,000 people — mostly women and children — arriving in the past two weeks alone.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari told the Security Council this morning that there have been hundreds of reported Israeli air strikes across Syria since 8 December 2024. He said Syria’s opportunity to stabilize after 14 years of conflict must be supported and protected, for Syrians and for Israelis.
The Secretary-General will convene the two Cypriot leaders and the Guarantor Powers of Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom for an informal meeting in Geneva from 17 to 18 March, which will provide an opportunity for a meaningful discussion on the way forward on the Cyprus issue.