Cyprus

In Syria, humanitarian officials report that, as of 14 January, about 58,000 people remain displaced, while nearly 90,000 others have returned home following clashes in Aleppo City. The UN and humanitarian partners continue to provide food, psychosocial support and other aid to displaced families and returnees.

In Cyrus, the Greek Cypriot leader, Nikos Christodoulides, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman, met for the first time as leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. The meeting took place in the UN protected area and was facilitated by the Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN and humanitarian partners are supporting the Government-led response following the declaration on 4 September of a new Ebola outbreak in Kasai Province, in the country’s centre-west. Preliminary figures from authorities indicate 28 suspected cases; that includes 15 fatalities.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Khassim Diagne of Senegal as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

A United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recent analysis warns that as global education funding faces steep cuts, an estimated 6 million additional children could be out of school by the end of 2026, around one third of them in humanitarian settings.

In Nepal, where health authorities there reported a suspected cholera outbreak a few days ago, national health authorities are leading the response and have activated the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene — or WASH— Cluster, with support from the United Nations team there.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today released a report warning that following major cuts to humanitarian budgets, up to 11.6 million refugees and others forced to flee risk losing access this year to direct humanitarian assistance from UNHCR. The figure represents about one third of those reached last year.

In southern Lebanon, UN peacekeepers continue to observe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) activities in its area of operations, including air strikes and ground military activities. In one such incident on 16 July, 20 IDF soldiers crossed north of the Blue Line and conducted military exercises near the village of Houla.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), more than half of all infants in Sudan, 880,000 babies and toddlers, missed last year their first doses of vaccines to protect against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. This is the lowest immunization rate in the country in over 40 years.

In Yemen, the two local water authorities in Taiz governorate reached a technical agreement to jointly manage the water supply systems, restoring essential services disrupted for nearly a decade amid conflict and institutional fragmentation.