Health

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.

The surge of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a growing number of African countries is a public health emergency of international concern, the World Health Organization warns. The Agency has released $1.45 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies and may release more in the coming days.

The General Assembly met today to take up drafts on "Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit", "Global health and foreign policy" and "Report of the United Nations Youth Office", including a debate on the report.

At least 53 Palestinian detainees are known to have died in Israeli military facilities and prisons since last October, according to a UN human rights office report published today on arbitrary, prolonged and incommunicado detentions, impacting thousands of Palestinians, including UN staff.

Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya has allocated $5.3 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support some 195,000 vulnerable Sudanese refugees and host communities in Libya. More than 15 months of conflict in Sudan has forced one fifth of the country’s population to flee.