Health

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports that a vicious cycle of climate change, wildfires and air pollution is having a spiralling negative impact on human health, ecosystems and agriculture.

As the United Nations and its humanitarian partners prepare for a vaccination campaign in Gaza to deal with the polio outbreak, speakers in the Security Council urged Israel to refrain from military operations and evacuation orders to ensure that those delivering and receiving services can do so safely.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reports that the significant rise in the water levels of the Nile has heightened the need for preparedness there, especially in high-risk communities near rivers or swampland.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and most particularly in the West Bank, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is warning that people there are increasingly exposed to deadly warfare tactics that seem to exceed international standards for law enforcement.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees today warned that without additional, urgent support, the recently declared Mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo could be devastating for refugees and displaced communities there and other impacted countries in Africa.

In Sudan, humanitarian officials report that flooding is heightening the risk of cholera, and that it will continue to spread. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that in a month since the first suspected cases were reported, more than 650 cases and 28 deaths have been reported there.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reports the situation along the Blue Line remains very tense, with daily exchanges of fire that have left destruction and claimed lives on both sides of the Blue Line.

With polio beginning to spread through the Gaza Strip, and humanitarian and health agencies overextended, an immediate humanitarian pause and a long-term peace deal are imperative, the Security Council heard today during an open briefing on the Palestinian question.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) appealed today for $18.5 million to provide crucial healthcare services to migrants, internally displaced people, and host communities at risk of Mpox in East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the southern part of the continent.

In Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that repeated waves of displacement — combined with overcrowding, insecurity, crumbling infrastructure, active hostilities and limited services — is worsening the humanitarian situation there, which is already catastrophic.