This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

Ukraine: UN appeals for $5.6 billion to help millions affected by conflict

Almost a year since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UN appealed on Wednesday for $5.6 billion to help millions of people affected inside the war-torn country and beyond.

The situation for many in Ukraine remains desperate, amid “relentless” shelling of civilian targets and infrastructure, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, told journalists in Geneva.

He explained that funding was needed to continue supporting lifesaving aid convoy deliveries to communities on the front line, “into areas of great danger and difficulty and priority needs”.

Echoing that call, Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, described the daily dangers faced by people caught up in the war:

“Civilian infrastructure is constantly being hit and destroyed. I've seen, you know, kindergarten(s) flattened and old people living in cellars because of the danger of bombing. So… I think we're becoming a little bit used to this. We shouldn't because it's quite appalling what the Russian invasion is doing to the country.”

Syria’s quake survivors need $397 million in aid relief for next three months

A no less urgent appeal now, this time for Syria, where the UN says that close to nine million people have been affected by last week’s devastating earthquakes.

To help them, relief agencies need $397 million to assist the most vulnerable, for the next three months.

The earthquake damage is worst in the northwest, with more than 4.2 million people affected in Aleppo, along with another three million in Idlib. More than 7,400 buildings have been completely or partially destroyed.

Water, electricity, heating and social services are under severe pressure, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, which also underlined the high risk of waterborne disease, while a nationwide cholera outbreak continues.

Rights expert points to needless suffering of leprosy patients

To Bangladesh, where too little is being done to protect leprosy patients from “needless suffering”, a top UN-appointed, independent rights expert said on Wednesday.

Alice Cruz, Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against people with leprosy, said that the disease continues to be “hidden” beneath layers of institutional neglect.

She commended the Bangladeshi authorities’ commitment to eliminate leprosy by 2030, but expressed concern about delayed diagnoses, ongoing transmission and disability among children and widespread stigma associated with the disease.

People with leprosy and their families “are still not enjoying the benefits of economic growth, nor are they seeing discrimination against them …redressed”, said the Special Rapporteur, who reports to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

According to the UN health agency, WHO, Bangladesh has the fifth highest leprosy caseload in the world.

UNESCO hosts global conference to tackle online disinformation and hate speech

In an effort to tackle another scourge – online disinformation and hate speech – the UN cultural, educational and scientific agency, UNESCO, is spearheading a bid to establish ground rules for social media platforms.

To get the ball rolling, thousands of representatives of governments, regulatory bodies, digital companies, academia and civil society, will convene at UNESCO headquarters in Paris next week.

The work of the Internet for Trust Global Conference will be driven by human rights considerations, and in particular, freedom of expression, said Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO.

The agency said that it recognised the revolutionary value of social media platforms but noted that the algorithms that are integral to most social media platforms “often prioritize engagement over safety and human rights”.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.