In Djibouti, drier-than-normal, El Niño-driven conditions have left 256,000 people, a quarter of the population, acutely food insecure through December. Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $2 million from the Central Emergency Response to support over 53,000 of the most vulnerable people.
On Wednesday, 18 February, UN Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in New Delhi, where he had been invited to take part in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Impact Summit.
The Peacebuilding Fund has allocated $2.5 million for an initiative in Togo’s northern Savanes region to support peaceful relations, stronger community ties and help prevent the spread of violence from the Sahel.
On the humanitarian front in Sudan, a UN convoy carrying supplies for more than 130,000 people has reached the cities of Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan State after weeks of delays due to high levels of insecurity along the route.
In Madagascar, the Government reported at least 52 deaths following Tropical Cyclone Gezani that made landfall earlier this month near Toamasina on the eastern coast. More than 800 people have been injured, nine remain missing and some 470,000 people have been impacted by the cyclone.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Stefan Priesner of Austria as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, with the host Government’s approval. He took up his post on 1 December 2025.
In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the city and region of Kyiv were hit by large-scale drone and missile strikes, killing and injuring several civilians. Up to 500,000 families in Kyiv lost electricity, with water and heating services disrupted. In Dnipro, an attack also killed and injured civilians.
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.
In Sudan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is alarmed by reports of a second deadly attack this week by the Rapid Support Forces on the famine-stricken camp of Abu Shouk on the outskirts of the besieged city of El Fasher, which hosts tens of thousands of people.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
