Myanmar

In Somalia, nearly 4.6 million people are likely to experience high levels of hunger from now until June, according to United Nations estimates. Humanitarian needs in the country are rising at a time when funding for aid operations is plummeting.

In response to the earthquake in Myanmar, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees rushed emergency supplies from Yangon to some 25,000 earthquake survivors in the Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw areas. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have also begun delivering emergency supplies.

In the Central African Republic, nearly 20,000 Central African refugees returned to their homeland voluntarily in 2024. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says this was the highest annual number of people returning to the country since the voluntary repatriation programme began in 2017.

In Ecuador, a UN team arrived on 24 March to support authorities to respond to the environmental emergency caused by a major oil spill. The spill in the Esmeraldas Province, in the country’s north-west, has contaminated key water sources, leaving half a million people without access to safe water and sanitation.

The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that over 1 million people in Myanmar will be cut off from food assistance, starting in April, due to critical funding shortages. The cuts will also impact almost 100,000 internally displaced people in Rakhine, who will have no access to food without WFP assistance.

The United Nations and its aid partners in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have launched this year’s Humanitarian Response Plans to assist 2.2 million people in need, seeking a total of $306 million.

In Ukraine, local authorities and humanitarians on the ground report that an attack in the residential area of Sumy City overnight resulted in a number of fatalities. Humanitarian partners mobilized an emergency response, complementing the efforts of first responders and the authorities.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Nearly half the population in Myanmar lives below the poverty line and less than 48 per cent had access to electricity last year — the lowest access rate in Asia, according to a UN Development Programme report released today highlighting the severe challenges dramatically reshaping the country.

The Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, today announced a $30 million allocation from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund to support the response in the country, enabling the UN’s partners to assist with food security, shelter, nutrition, protection, healthcare, water and sanitation, and education.