The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is deeply concerned by news of a boat carrying migrants adrift off the Canary Islands for almost a month before it was found. Spanish authorities recovered 44 survivors. More than 80 people are believed to have died or gone missing. Monitoring and rescue capacity along the West Africa Atlantic route remain limited.
In Nepal, over 500 people have been confirmed dead due to mass flooding, hundreds remain missing and over 3,700 have so far been rescued. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher said the UN and its aid partners are moving at speed, helping national authorities to deliver urgent, life-saving support.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
2025 saw the highest number of armed conflicts since the Second World War and some of the highest levels of acute hunger on record, the UN Secretary-General told the Security Council today. It was also the first time this century that two famines were confirmed simultaneously, in Sudan and in Gaza - a shameful milestone.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the Ebola outbreak has caused nearly 2,500 deaths as of 18 August, the Government and aid partners are expanding the response with five operational priorities. The World Health Organization (WHO) has allocated 70,000 doses of the Ebola Zaire vaccine to front-line health workers.
In Venezuela, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is supporting 80 international and local organizations, as well as the authorities, in recovery efforts following recent earthquakes and floods. More than 300,000 people have received food, health services, clean water and hygiene support.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $5 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support the humanitarian response in Colombia following the devastating earthquake there. The UN is also deploying teams to assess needs in most impacted areas, in coordination with local authorities.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) today warned of the staggering scale of people trafficked worldwide by criminal networks and forced to participate in online scams in a multi-billion-dollar criminal industry. Between 2022 and 2025, IOM assisted over 3,500 victims across South-East Asia.
The following statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was issued today:
