Noon Briefings

The acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen has called for a thorough and expeditious investigation into the killing of an aid worker on 5 January

In December, the World Food Programme reached more than 975,000 vulnerable people with food aid across Gaza and the West Bank. For its part, the United Nations Children’s Fund has been delivering vital supplies to Gaza, including vaccines, medical supplies, hygiene kits, and ready-to-use infant formula.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs warned that nine months of war in Sudan has tipped the country into a downward spiral that only grows more ruinous by the day. Nearly 25 million people there will need assistance in 2024 — but escalating hostilities are putting most of them beyond reach.

In the Central African Republic, where, following a violent attack two weeks ago that caused the death of 23 civilians in the Lim-Pendé prefecture, United Nations peacekeepers are continuing to provide protection to the population and helping to secure the area to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

In Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today expressed concern about the impact on civilians of escalating hostilities in the north-west of the country — as well as the potential for the violence to jeopardize cross-border missions by United Nations staff.

In Gaza, over 500,000 people are facing unprecedented catastrophic hunger and starvation, according to an analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which includes data from the World Food Programme (WFP) and other UN agencies. WFP warns that Gaza now risks famine.

In Sudan, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it is temporarily suspending food assistance in some parts of Al Jazirah state, as fighting has spread south and east of the capital, Khartoum

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said today that 65 journalists have been killed in the line of duty in 2023, compared with 88 in 2022. The Head of UNESCO said that this drop conceals an alarming phenomenon: an increase in the number killed in conflict zones and more is online.

In Myanmar, the UN and humanitarian partners today published the 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan which indicates that nearly three years after the military takeover a third of the population — about 18.6 million people — needs humanitarian aid, up 1 million from last year.

In Myanmar, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that more than 660,000 people are estimated to have been newly displaced since the escalation of armed conflict on 27 October. Currently, a total of 2.6 million people are displaced across the country.