Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan has systematically dismantled the rights of women — half its population — making it a global outlier with no parallel in the modern world, UN-Women reports. Half of Afghan women interviewed leave home only once or twice a month due to severe restrictions.
Yemen faces a greater risk of renewed large-scale conflict than at any point since the UN-brokered truce of April 2022, Hans Grundberg, the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Yemen, warns. Mr. Grundberg is engaging intensively with the Yemeni parties, regional actors and global partners on options for de-escalation.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the benchmark measure of world food commodity prices edged up in July, as heatwaves and energy price dynamics pushed up quotations for cereals, vegetable oils and sugar. Global wheat prices surged by 5.8 per cent amid concerns over disruptions to Black Sea export flows.
The Food and Agriculture Organization today warned that rising fertilizer prices are threatening Afghanistan’s 2027 wheat harvest ahead of what could be one of the country’s most promising wheat-growing seasons in years; it is appealing for $38.3 million to enable up to 600,000 farms access to fertilizer and certified wheat seed.
In Gaza, air strikes, shelling and shooting continued over the weekend, reportedly killing dozens of people, including civilians, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports. Gaza’s Ministry of Health documented over 150 fatalities in July, the highest reported monthly death toll so far this year.
In Yemen, UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Indrika Ratwatt has allocated $10 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to respond to rapidly scale up emergency food and critical health, water and sanitation services. More than 18 million people, over half of the population, are facing acute food insecurity.
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.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where as of 25 July, confirmed Ebola cases reportedly reached 3,200, the UN and partners continue to assist authorities on surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing and patient care. The World Food Programme has provided over 140,000 meals and food to vulnerable people.
The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that food assistance for more than 130,000 refugees in Burundi risks drawing down unless funding is received. WFP urgently needs $35 million to sustain food and nutrition support for refugees through August 2027. Without new resources, life-saving food distributions will end in October.
The Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund approved $2.4 million for a new programme to reduce insecurity across four regions of Mali, where communities and local institutions have come under sustained pressure and insecurity and violence. It aims to strengthen collaboration among local authorities, security forces and traditional leaders
