Humanitarian issues

The latest report of the Secretary-General on women, peace and security says that the effects of war and conflict on women and girls are worsening. In 2023, the proportion of women killed in armed conflicts doubled compared to 2022 and four out of every 10 people who died because of conflict in 2023 were women.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) says that one year into the Gaza war, the humanitarian crisis has reached a catastrophic level — with unprecedented casualties, widespread destruction and severe food insecurity.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that an urgent request to access the Falouja area of Jabalya to help those trapped under the rubble was denied by Israeli authorities for the fourth consecutive day, and teams, in Gaza City, reported that shelter support is urgently needed.

This week, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), in its continuing support to the Government on demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration of ex-combatants, repatriated four ex-combatants from Rwanda along with a dependent woman.

Urgent action is needed to address the abject conditions and intolerable suffering in Gaza, a senior humanitarian UN official told the Security Council today, as delegates expressed horror at the recent strike on a hospital that killed displaced persons sheltering there, amidst Israel’s intensifying operations in northern Gaza.

In Sudan, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that due to the intensifying conflict in Darfur, nearly 25,000 people have arrived in Chad in the first week of October. According to UNHCR, nearly 3 million refugees and returnees have now fled Sudan over the last 18 months, crossing borders to seek safety in neighbouring States.

In Lebanon, 12 UN trucks delivered bottled water, family hygiene kits and blankets, among other vital aid, to the Marjeyoun and Klayaa villages. This inter-agency mission is supported by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, World Food Programme, UN refugee agency, UNICEF and the UN Population Fund.

The second round of the polio vaccination campaign began in the middle area of the Gaza Strip. Over the coming 12 days, colleagues at UNRWA, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other aim to vaccinate around 590,000 children under 10 years of age with a second dose of the novel oral polio vaccination type 2.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is alarmed by reports of a series of violent clashes in the Central Equatoria state, which resulted in the deaths of 24 people, including 19 civilians. UNMISS has intensified patrols across Central Equatoria and is working to access the area and prevent further escalations.

In Myanmar, amid an expanding conflict, an estimated 1 million people are also suffering from the impacts of deadly flooding. To bolster emergency relief efforts, the Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, allocated $4 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund at the end of September.