aid

Six months since the military coup in Myanmar, the UN and partners are doing their utmost to help protect the country’s people and show solidarity with their plight, amid mass displacement linked to deadly clashes with Government forces and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. 

That’s the message from the organisation’s top acting humanitarian coordinator in the country, Ramanathan Balakrishnan, who’s been speaking to UN News’s Daniel Johnson. 

An attack by an armed group on the isolated town of Rann in north-east Nigeria has cut aid to tens of thousands of people and uprooted many more, UN humanitarians said on Friday.

With the latest information, here’s Samantha Newport from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), speaking to Daniel Johnson from UN News.

UN humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien says a new approach for aid delivery can help people not only survive, but thrive.

He made the remarks on the first anniversary of the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) which rallied global actors to protect the most vulnerable.

Representatives from 180 countries, including more than 50 Heads of State and Government, had attended the Summit, which took place in Istanbul, Turkey, last May.

While humanitarian support has saved “countless” lives, ongoing fighting in South Sudan continues to make difficult the rollout of aid programmes, according to the Regional Director for Eastern and Central Africa at the World Food Programme (WFP).

Valerie Guarnieri made the remarks on Tuesday during a joint press briefing with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on the escalating hunger crisis in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan.

“Time is running out” to avoid a famine in Yemen and children will be hit the hardest, an expert from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said.

Dr Sherin Varkey, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Yemen says US $236 million is needed to deliver essential life-saving aid.

The conflict in Yemen enters its third year this week and has left nearly 19 million Yemenis in dire need of assistance.

Reem Abaza spoke to Dr Varkey about the situation.

Duration: 5'12''

Women peacekeepers have the power to do “much more" in peacekeeping operations and also in encouraging post-conflict resolution.

That’s according to Lieutenant Colonel Ratih Pusparini, an Indonesian “blue helmet” who has served with UN peacekeeping missions in Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Lebanon.

The Lieutenant Colonel participated in a recent panel discussion at UN headquarters about the role of women in peacekeeping.

More than one million people in conflict-affected areas of northeast Nigeria have received food aid or cash since the beginning of the month, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports.

The UN agency describes this achievement as a “milestone,” but warns that it still lacks necessary funding to assist more people in need.

Northeast Nigeria has been devastated by years of insecurity due to the operations of the terrorist group Boko Haram, and WFP has ramped up efforts in the region.

A “forgotten population” of refugees from across Africa is living in limbo in Egypt according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

People who have fled turmoil and conflict in countries like Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan, and who are hoping to reach Europe are getting stranded in Egypt, whilst waiting to be certified as asylum seekers.

A large proportion of aid for the region is being directed towards refugees from Syria who have made their way to the North African country.