Children

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that a complete collapse of Internet and data services is paralysing aid operations across Gaza. This is reportedly not a routine outage — but a total failure of Gaza’s digital infrastructure — and most agencies are largely cut off from teams on the ground.

A new report released today by the International Labour Organization and the UN Children’s Fund shows early 138 million children were engaged in child labour in 2024, including 54 million in hazardous work likely to jeopardize their health, safety or development. This number is 20 million children less than in 2020.

In Sudan, five members of a UN humanitarian convoy were killed on 2 June and several more were injured during an attack in North Darfur. The joint World Food Programme-UNICEF convoy was made up of 15 trucks, and they had travelled over 1,800 kilometres from Port Sudan, and they were carrying nutrition supplies and food.

A new World Meteorological Organization report forecast global temperatures will continue at or near record levels in the next five years, increasing climate risks and impacts on societies, economies and sustainable development, with an 86 per cent chance that at least one year will be over 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

In Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that, yesterday and today, Israeli authorities granted access to Kerem Shalom so that UN teams could reach additional humanitarian supplies that crossed into the Strip on Monday and Tuesday.

In Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that more than 670,000 people have been displaced since November 2024, while over 1 million people have returned to their areas of origin. Meanwhile, the UN and its partners continue to deliver aid across the country despite reduced funding.

In Somalia, flash floods have impacted nearly 30,000 people in different parts of the country. Authorities say at least four people have been killed in the past week. Humanitarian officials note that the rains come after months of dry conditions that decimated water sources and grazing land.

In Somalia, nearly 4.6 million people are likely to experience high levels of hunger from now until June, according to United Nations estimates. Humanitarian needs in the country are rising at a time when funding for aid operations is plummeting.

In response to the earthquake in Myanmar, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees rushed emergency supplies from Yangon to some 25,000 earthquake survivors in the Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw areas. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have also begun delivering emergency supplies.

In Ecuador, a UN team arrived on 24 March to support authorities to respond to the environmental emergency caused by a major oil spill. The spill in the Esmeraldas Province, in the country’s north-west, has contaminated key water sources, leaving half a million people without access to safe water and sanitation.