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	We must save as many lives as we can by OCHA, IPC, WFP, UNICEF, agencies   June 2025   We must save as many lives as we can, by Tom Fletcher - United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator   By the end of May 2025, nearly 300 million people around the world were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection. In the first months of the year, conflicts and violence intensified in multiple countries—deepening needs and driving many people to the brink of death—while natural disasters wreaked havoc on the lives of millions of people.   Multiple crises were characterized by systematic violations of international humanitarian law, including mass atrocities, with catastrophic consequences for civilians.   Forced displacement—primarily driven by conflict—reached its highest ever levels. The number of people forced to flee persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order rose in 2024, reaching a record 123.2 million people, or one in 67 people globally.   This included 83.4 million people who remained internally displaced within their own country as a consequence of conflicts and natural disasters, a 12 per cent increase compared to 2023.   In 2025, refugees continued to flee crises—particularly Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Myanmar and Sudan—and internal displacement rose rapidly.   In the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) , hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were repeatedly forcibly displaced and confined into ever-shrinking spaces. Haiti is seeing record levels of displacement due to violence, with nearly 1.3 million people now internally displaced, a 24 per cent increase since December 2024.   In the DRC, the M23 offensive in the east of the country, beginning in January 2025, displaced over a million people. In Burkina Faso, over 60,000 people were internally displaced in April alone and in Colombia, over 50,000 people were displaced in just two weeks due to the Catatumbo crisis.   With every displacement, urgent shelter needs arise. Shelter is a foundation for survival—without it, people remain exposed to violence, disease, and exploitation. Despite 40 per cent of IDPs globally still residing in displacement sites, the support provided to these locations is minimal.   The global food security crisis escalated dramatically, with 295.3 million people facing high acute food insecurity. Conflict and/or insecurity was responsible for Catastrophic food insecurity (Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) 5) in Haiti, Mali, OPT, South Sudan and Sudan, as well as famine in 10 locations in Sudan and famine-risk across all of Gaza, OPT.   Conflict also caused food insecurity to significantly deteriorate in Myanmar, Nigeria and Sudan, and drove malnutrition crises in Mali, OPT (Gaza), Sudan and Yemen.   Sexual violence was rampant, particularly against women and girls. In the DRC, it was estimated that a child is raped every half hour; in Haiti, there was a tenfold increase in sexual violence against children between 2023 and 2024; in Sudan, the scale and brutality of sexual violence escalated, and around 12.1 million people—nearly one in four, most of them women and girls—are now at risk of gender-based violence.   The horrifying toll of war on children continued to mount, with 50,000 children reportedly killed or injured in Gaza, OPT between October 2023 and May 2025, and April 2025 marking the deadliest month for children in Ukraine in nearly three years. In Colombia, more than 46,000 children and adolescents in the Catatumbo region are facing alarming risks, including fear of forced recruitment into non-State armed groups due to escalating conflict in 2025.   Attacks against health care disrupted vital and life-saving care for millions of people throughout the first months of 2025, with over 500 attacks recorded—over 300 of which involved the use of heavy weapons—across 13 countries and territories.   The use of explosive weapons in urban areas caused devastating harm for civilians and impacted services essential for their survival, including in Myanmar, OPT, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen. It is estimated that some 50 million people suffer the horrific consequences of urban warfare worldwide.   Climate and geological crises: Two major natural disasters occurred in the first half of 2025. On 28 March 2025, two earthquakes struck central Myanmar, killing 3,800 people, injuring 51,000, destroying thousands of homes and disrupting communications, water access and electricity supply. The disaster exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation in the country where, prior to the earthquake, nearly 20 million people were already in need of humanitarian assistance.   Meanwhile, in Mozambique, Tropical Cyclone Dikeldi made landfall on 13 January 2025, just a month after Tropical Cyclone Chido on 15 December 2024. The two cyclones impacted 700,000 people and destroyed approximately 150,000 homes, as well as hundreds of schools and health facilities.   The risk of major emergencies continues to rise due to the global climate crisis, with 2024 now confirmed as the warmest year on record, while 2015 to 2024 are all in the ‘Top Ten’. And the future is bleak: there is an 80 per cent chance that at least one year between 2025 and 2029 will be hotter than 2024.   Underfunding: millions of people’s lives are hanging in the balance as services, programmes and organizations shut down   At the end of 2024, humanitarian action was already underfunded and under attack. Today, the situation is unimaginably worse: humanitarians are having to dramatically cut assistance and protection for people in crisis as funding plummets, while themselves facing increasing attacks.   In the first five months of 2025, multiple major donors reduced funding, triggering a seismic contraction in global humanitarian action.   The United States of America—which funded 45 per cent of the global humanitarian appeal in 2024—announced a suspension and subsequent termination of many humanitarian contracts, with sudden and widespread consequences around the globe.   This came on top of reductions announced or instituted by other major donors, including Germany and the United Kingdom, and on the back of a reduction in humanitarian aid from 2023 to 2024.   At least 79 million people in crisis will no longer be targeted for assistance as a result and this is likely a significant underestimate.   Cuts in food rations and emergency assistance are jeopardizing the lives and wellbeing of people facing acute food insecurity.   The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that it may reach more than 16 million people less (21 per cent) with emergency food assistance in 2025 compared to the 80 million people assisted in 2024. Already, prior to 2025, financing for food, cash and emergency agriculture was well below what was required, from Haiti to Mali and South Sudan.   In Bangladesh, one million Rohingya refugees who rely on food assistance will see their monthly food rations halved without additional funding. In Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), one in every three (60 out of 180) community kitchens had to close in just days. In Sudan, additional funding is urgently needed to procure and distribute seeds, without which, many farmers may miss this critical planting window. In Haiti, which has just entered the Atlantic Hurricane Season and where food insecurity is rampant, WFP, for the first time ever, has no prepositioned food stocks, nor the cash liquidity to mount a swift humanitarian response in the case of a hurricane.   Malnourished children face heightened risk of severe malnutrition and death. Disruptions to nutrition support and services due to global funding cuts are expected to affect 14 million children, including more than 2.4 million who are already suffering severe acute malnutrition and at imminent risk of death.   In Afghanistan, 298 nutrition sites closed, depriving 80,000 acutely malnourished children, pregnant women, and new mothers of treatment posing a serious risk of increased mortality.   Maternal and infant mortality may rise, as sexual and reproductive healthcare services are cut in countries where risks are already the highest. Funding cuts have led to facility closures, loss of health workers and disruptions to supply chains for lifesaving supplies and medicines such as treatments for haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and malaria—all leading causes of maternal deaths. Severe funding cuts are reducing support for midwives in crisis settings, jeopardizing the health and lives of pregnant women and newborns in some of the most fragile places on earth.   Children are losing access to their future, as access to education diminishes. More than 1.8 million children will miss out on learning due to aid cuts impacting just one NGO’s education programmes in over 20 countries.   Lack of shelter is leaving millions of people exposed to the elements and violence. In some of the world’s biggest crises—including Sudan and DRC—distribution of emergency shelters is at risk of being cut. In Chad, Colombia and Uganda, families face protracted displacement with no shelter assistance on the horizon.   Around the world, budget cuts are forcing humanitarian partners to reduce operations, presence and services. At least 12,000 humanitarian staff contracts have been cut and at least 22 organizations have had to completely close their offices in the relevant countries. National NGOs have reported the highest proportion of terminations.   Separately, almost half (47 per cent) of women-led organizations surveyed are expecting to shut down within six months, if current funding levels persist, and almost three-quarters (72 per cent) report having been forced to lay off staff.   Funding cuts have also affected humanitarian programmes for persons with disabilities, with 81 per cent reporting an impact on the delivery of assistance to address basic needs and 95 per cent reporting an impact on work to address barriers faced by persons with disabilities to access humanitarian assistance.   The risk of preventable disease and mortality has risen as health and water, sanitation and hygiene services (WASH) are curtailed.   In Syria, hospitals serving over 200,000 people in Deir ez-Zor are at risk of closing in May 2025 and over 170 health facilities in the north-west of the country risk running out of funds. In Somalia, over a quarter of one NGO’s health and nutrition facilities will stop services in June 2025, affecting at least 55,000 children.   In the DRC, 100,000 children are projected to miss out on measles vaccination in 2026 alone. In Afghanistan, approximately 420 health facilities have closed, denying three million people access to primary health care. In Sudan, through the South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan, nearly 190,000 refugees and host households in White Nile, Kordofan and parts of Darfur risk losing access to WASH services, heightening the risk of disease outbreaks, malnutrition and protection violations, particularly for women and children.   Funding cuts for women-led organizations have hit gender-based violence prevention and protection efforts hardest. In the DRC, underfunding—combined with an upsurge in violence—means that 250,000 children will miss out on GBV prevention. In Yemen, funding suspensions have already forced 22 safe spaces to close, denying services and support to women and girls.   Services for refugees are being jeopardized. In Rwanda, under the DRC regional refugee plan, cash assistance for food decreased by 50 per cent. In Uganda, vulnerable refugees (82 per cent of the settlement refugee population) have had their food rations reduced to approximately a quarter of the full amount. In Lebanon, tens of thousands of vulnerable families risk being left without cash assistance to meet their basic needs. In Hungary, under the Ukraine Refugee Response Plan, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will not enroll any new refugees with severe disabilities into the cash support programme.   As of 10 June 2025, only 12 per cent of funding required under the 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview has been received. Without urgent additional support and financial backing, humanitarian partners will be unable to reach even people with the most life-threatening needs.   And yet, this devastating underfunding of humanitarian action comes amid an exponential rise in military expenditure. In 2024, military expenditure reached over $2.7 trillion in 2024; more than 100 times the amount galvanized for humanitarian appeals globally ($24.91 billion). This was the steepest year-on-year rise in military expenditure since at least the end of the Cold War, with European military expenditure accounting for the main increase.   http://www.unocha.org/latest/news-and-stories   June 2025   A hyper-prioritized Global Humanitarian Overview 2025: the cruel math of aid cuts, by Tom Fletcher - United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:   "This is a moment of reckoning. Brutal funding cuts have left us with no other option than to further reduce the number of people we are hoping to save.   Six months after ruthlessly prioritizing those in the direst need, we are left with the cruel math of doing less with less – even as the world around us remains on fire.   Make no mistake: our appeal for less money does not mean that there are less needs. Quite the contrary.   What has changed is that funding for our work has been decimated, even as more lives are shattered by wars and climate-induced disasters, and as our own staff is killed, injured, and detained just for trying to save lives.   What has changed is that more people in positions of power are choosing to finance wars instead of aiding people bearing their brunt; retreating from their obligations under international law instead of upholding them; allowing the worst violations to continue instead of holding perpetrators accountable; repressing women and girls instead of empowering them.   And yet I refuse to believe that humanity is dead. Everywhere I’ve been since taking on this role, I have seen its irrepressible power: In the people who have next to nothing and how they open their doors to those fleeing crises; in the women who have survived atrocities—from Gaza to El Geneina—and how they support their own communities; in the aid providers who, through sheer determination, ingenuity and care, manage to reach people in even the most dangerous and challenging crises.   So, as we launch this hyper-prioritized Global Humanitarian Overview, I am calling on the global community—Governments, businesses, individuals—to meet this moment. Help us deliver for those who need our support the most. Stand up for the laws that protect civilians and protect us as we serve them. Hold those responsible for atrocities to account. Ask yourself whether you did all you could.   This GHO Special Edition reflects our collective response to the most devastating funding cuts that our sector has ever seen. It is a focused, clear-eyed account of what must happen now—where the needs are most urgent, where we can still make the most difference, and where lives are, very literally, on the line.   Reaching this point has not been easy; it has required extremely tough conversations and difficult decisions. And let me be crystal clear: while this document outlines what we must do, right now, to save as many lives as we can with the resources that we have, it does not – in any way – replace our meticulous and painstaking planning for this year. The entirety of our initial Global Humanitarian Overview remains fully valid and should be fully funded. This hyper-prioritized version is the tip of the iceberg, not the whole effort.   What we are launching today is a call to action, not a plea for charity—it’s an appeal for responsibility, solidarity, and a future built on humanity.   Inaction is not inevitable. It is a choice—and one we can refuse to make. The stakes could not be higher".   http://humanitarianaction.info/document/hyper-prioritized-global-humanitarian-overview-2025-cruel-math-aid-cuts http://humanitarianaction.info/ http://www.fsinplatform.org/grfc-2025-september-update http://www.ipcinfo.org/   Gaza Strip: Famine confirmed in Gaza Governorate, projected to expand (IPC)   As of 15 August 2025, Famine (IPC Phase 5)—with reasonable evidence—is confirmed in Gaza Governorate. After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death. Another 1.07 million people (54 percent) are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), and 396,000 people (20 percent) are in Crisis (IPC Phase 3).   Between mid-August and the end of September 2025, conditions are expected to further worsen with Famine projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. Nearly a third of the population (641,000 people) are expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), while those in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) will likely rise to 1.14 million (58 percent). Acute malnutrition is projected to continue worsening rapidly.   Through June 2026, at least 132,000 children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition—double the IPC estimates from May 2025. This includes over 41,000 severe cases of children at heightened risk of death. Nearly 55,500 malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women will also require urgent nutrition response.   Despite limited data, conditions in North Gaza Governorate are estimated to be as severe—or worse—than in Gaza Governorate.   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-134/en/ http://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-says-gaza-famine-must-spur-world-urgent-action http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/famine-confirmed-first-time-gaza http://www.wfp.org/news/famine-confirmed-first-time-gaza http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165702 http://www.savethechildren.net/news/children-starved-plain-sight-famine-confirmed-gaza-save-children http://www.care.org/media-and-press/famine-confirmed-in-gaza-as-assault-on-gaza-city-looms/ http://www.rescue.org/press-release/all-famine-thresholds-now-surpassed-gaza-city-irc-urges-government-israel-enable-aid   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-124/en/ http://www.wfp.org/news/risk-famine-across-all-gaza-new-report-says http://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-calls-security-council-act-decisively-prevent-genocide-gaza http://www.who.int/news/item/12-05-2025-people-in-gaza-starving--sick-and-dying-as-aid-blockade-continues   Apr. 2025   If we die while sleeping… will it still hurt, by Nour Elassy - Poet and writer based in Gaza   Last week, during another violent night, my almost four-year-old niece asked me a question I’ll never forget. “If we die while sleeping… will it still hurt?”   I didn’t know what to say. How do you tell a child — who has seen more death than daylight — that dying in your sleep is a mercy?   So I told her: “No. I don’t think so. That’s why we should fall asleep now.”   She nodded quietly, and turned her face to the wall. She believed me. She closed her eyes.   I sat in the dark, listening to the bombs, wondering how many children were being buried alive just down the street.   I have 12 nieces and nephews. All are under the age of nine. They have been my solace and joy in these dark times.   But I, like their parents, struggle to help them make sense of what is going on around us.   We have had to lie to them so many times. They would often believe us, but sometimes they would feel in our voices or our stares that something terrifying was happening. They would feel the horror in the air.   No child should ever have to endure such brutality. No parent should have to cower in despair, knowing they cannot protect their children.   Last month, the ceasefire ended, and with it, the illusion of a pause. What followed wasn’t just a resumption of war — it was a shift to something more brutal and relentless.   In the span of three weeks, Gaza has become a field of fire, where no one is safe. More than 1,400 men, women and children have been killed. Daily massacres have shattered what remained of our ability to hope.   Some of them have hit home. Not just emotionally. Physically. Just yesterday, the air was filled with dust and the smell of blood from just a few streets away. The Israeli army targeted al-Nakheel Street in Gaza City, killing 11 people, including five children.   A few days earlier, at Dar al-Arqam School, a place that had sheltered displaced families, an Israeli air strike turned classrooms into ash. At least 30 people were killed in seconds—mostly women and children.   They had come there seeking safety, believing the blue United Nations flag would protect them. It didn’t. The school is less than 10 minutes away from my home.   The same day, the nearby Fahd School was also bombarded; three people were killed.A day earlier, there was news of a horror scene in Jabalia. An Israeli strike targeted a clinic run by the UNRWA, where civilians were sheltering.   Eyewitnesses described body parts strewn across the clinic. Children burned alive. An infant decapitated. The smell of burning flesh suffocating the survivors. It was a massacre in a place meant for healing.   Amid all this, parts of Gaza City received evacuation orders. Evacuate. Now. But to where? Gaza has no safe zones. The north is levelled. The south is bombed. The sea is a prison. The roads are death traps.   We stayed. It is not because we are brave. It is because we have nowhere else to go. Fear is not the right word to describe what we feel in Gaza. Fear is manageable. Fear can be named.   What we feel is a choking, silent terror that sits inside your chest and never leaves. It is the moment between a missile’s whistle and the impact, when you wonder if your heart has stopped.   It is the sound of children crying from under the rubble. The smell of blood spreading with the wind. It is the question my niece asked.   Foreign governments and politicians call it a “conflict”. A “complex situation”. A “tragedy”.   But what we are living through is not complex. What we are living through is not a tragedy. It is a war crime.   I’ve spent months writing, calling out to the world. I will not let our truth remain unspoken. Because I believe someone is listening. Somewhere. I write because I believe in humanity, even when governments have turned their backs on it. I write so that when history is written, no one can say they didn’t know.   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/world-must-act-urgency-save-palestinians-gaza http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-runs-out-food-stocks-gaza-border-crossings-remain-closed http://www.unocha.org/news/ocha-warns-deliberate-dismantling-life-gaza http://unocha.exposure.co/gaza-through-the-eyes-of-its-photographers http://www.unocha.org/news/aid-must-not-be-weaponized-warns-gaza-humanitarian-country-team-amid-mounting-crisis http://news.un.org/en/tags/gaza   26 Aug. 2025   After 500 days under siege, children in Sudan’s Al Fasher face starvation, mass displacement, and deadly violence. (UNICEF)   After 500 days under siege, the city of Al Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur has become an epicentre of child suffering, with malnutrition, disease, and violence claiming young lives daily, UNICEF warned today.   At least 600,000 people - half of them children - have been displaced from Al Fasher and surrounding camps in recent months. Inside the city, an estimated 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, remain trapped in desperate conditions, cut off from aid for more than 16 months.   “We are witnessing a devastating tragedy – children in Al Fasher are starving while UNICEF’s lifesaving nutrition services are being blocked,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Blocking humanitarian access is a grave violation of children's rights, and the lives of children are hanging in the balance.   UNICEF continues to call for immediate and full access, including through expanded pauses in the fighting to allow us to reach all children in need. Children must be protected at all times, and they must have access to life-saving aid.”   The toll on children is catastrophic. Since the start of the siege in April 2024, more than 1,100 grave violations have been verified in Al Fasher alone, including the killing and maiming of over 1,000 children. Many were struck down in their homes, inside displacement camps, or in marketplaces. At least 23 children have been subjected to rape, gang rape, or sexual abuse, while others have been abducted, recruited, or used by armed groups. Due to limited access and verification challenges, the number of affected children is almost certainly significantly higher.   This week saw reports of another mass casualty event, as seven children were reportedly killed in an attack on Abu Shouk Internal Displacement camp, located on the outskirts of Al Fasher.   In Al Fasher, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) siege has completely cut off supply lines. Health facilities and mobile nutrition teams have been forced to suspend services as supplies have been depleted without new supplies able to enter, leaving an estimated 6,000 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) without treatment. Without therapeutic food and medical care, these children face an exponentially higher risk of death.   Health and education facilities have come under continued attack, with 35 hospitals and 6 schools struck, including Al Fasher Saudi Maternal Teaching Hospital, which was hit more than ten times, killing and injuring many, including children. In January, shelling destroyed the therapeutic health centre at Abu Shouk camp, depriving thousands of malnourished children of treatment.   Meanwhile, acute malnutrition is spreading fast. More than 10,000 children in Al Fasher have been treated for SAM since January – nearly double last year’s figure. But depletion of supplies has now forced the suspension of services. Recent reports indicate at least 63 people – mostly women and children – died of malnutrition in a single week.   The situation in the wider region is also concerning; In July, Mellit locality – hosting many displaced from Al Fasher – recorded an Acute Malnutrition rate of 34.2 per cent, a record high since the onset of the war in April 2023 in Sudan.   The siege is colliding with Sudan’s worst cholera outbreak in decades. Since July 2024, more than 96,000 suspected cases and 2,400 deaths have been reported nationally, with nearly 5,000 cases and 98 deaths in Darfur alone. In overcrowded camps around Tawila, Zamzam, and Al Fasher, children weakened by hunger are now highly vulnerable to deadly waterborne disease.   UNICEF continues to call on the Government of Sudan, and all other concerned parties, to help ensure sustained, unimpeded, and safe access to reach children wherever they are in Sudan, including:   An immediate and sustained humanitarian pause in Al Fasher and across other conflict-affected areas. Unimpeded humanitarian access for the delivery of therapeutic food, medicines, clean water, and other essentials. The re-establishment and continuity of UN and partner operations in the areas most critically affected. Protection of civilians, including children, and civilian infrastructure in line with international humanitarian law.   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/after-500-days-under-siege-children-sudans-al-fasher-face-starvation-mass http://sudan.un.org/en/300675-statement-attributable-spokesman-secretary-general-sudan http://www.wfp.org/news/one-year-after-famine-first-confirmed-sudan-wfp-warns-people-trapped-el-fasher-face-starvation http://www.wfp.org/stories/wfp-calls-humanitarian-access-sudanese-city-grapples-starvation http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165642 http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/ingos-condemn-persistent-violations-international-humanitarian-law-ihl-el-fasher-where-civilians-are-starving-and-besieged   http://plan-international.org/news/2025/07/11/children-starve-famine-risk-persists-sudan/ http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-132/en/ http://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Alert_Sudan_July2025.pdf http://www.wfp.org/news/one-year-after-famine-first-confirmed-sudan-wfp-warns-people-trapped-el-fasher-face-starvation http://www.icrc.org/en/news-release/sudan-attacks-kordofan-states-hundreds-deaths-displacement-collapse-services http://www.mercycorps.org/press-room/releases/famine-tightens-grip-on-sudan-ingos-call-for-immediate-access-for-aid http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/children-sudan-reduced-skin-and-bones-unicef-calls-urgent-action http://www.unicef.org/sudan/press-releases/over-640000-children-under-five-risk-cholera-spreads-sudans-north-darfur-state http://www.msf.org/war-fuels-cholera-outbreak-across-sudan   UN urges global action to protect and support civilians devastated by Sudan’s war   Two years of conflict have fueled a catastrophic protection crisis and displaced a staggering 12 million people in Sudan and across borders.   Fighting continues to kill and injure civilians and destroy hospitals, markets and other essential infrastructure. Nearly two-thirds of the population need emergency aid, and the country is facing famine conditions. Refugees in dire need arrive in neighbouring countries where local resources are already stretched thin.   “Sudan is a humanitarian emergency of shocking proportions,” said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher. “Famine is taking hold. An epidemic of sexual violence rages. Children are being killed and injured. The suffering is appalling. We need to stop the fighting, and funding to deliver for the Sudanese people, and we need better access by land, sea and air to those who need help.”   “Today, one-third of Sudan’s entire population is displaced. The consequences of this horrific and senseless conflict spread far beyond Sudan’s borders,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “Neighbouring countries have shown great solidarity by welcoming refugees, even when more are arriving every day. But their resources are stretched – essentials such as water, shelter and health services are scarce – and Sudan needs urgent support. The international community must step up and help, not just to ensure that emergency aid and life-saving protection can continue without disruption, but also to end the violence and restore peace to Sudan.”   Famine conditions have been reported in numerous locations in Sudan including displacement camps in Darfur and in the western Nuba Mountains. Catastrophic hunger is expected to worsen by May when the lean season begins. With continued fighting and basic services having collapsed across most of the country, the crisis is set to get worse.   The Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Sudan aims to reach nearly 21 million vulnerable people with life-saving aid and protection. This is the highest number of people in any UN-coordinated plan this year. As the conflict rages on, thousands continue to flee every day. The majority arrive in an extremely vulnerable state, with high levels of malnutrition and requiring emergency assistance. To date, nearly 3.5 million people have sought safety in neighbouring countries further stretching already scarce services and resources.   Sudan: Acute Food Insecurity Situation   Twenty months into the conflict, Sudan continues to slide into a widening Famine crisis characterized by widespread starvation and a significant surge in acute malnutrition. The IPC Famine Review Committee (FRC) has detected Famine in at least five areas and projects that five additional areas will face Famine between December 2024 and May 2025. Furthermore, there is a risk of Famine in seventeen additional areas. Half of the population (24.6 million people) is facing high levels of acute food insecurity. This marks an unprecedented deepening and widening of the food and nutrition crisis, driven by the devastating conflict, which has triggered unprecedented mass displacement, a collapsing economy, the breakdown of essential social services, and severe societal disruptions, and poor humanitarian access.   Between December 2024 and May 2025, 24.6 million people face high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above). These results mark a stark increase of 3.5 million people compared to the number originally projected and correspond to over half of the population of Sudan. This includes about 15.9 million people (33 percent) classified in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis), 8.1 million people (17 percent) in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), and at least 638,000 people (1 percent) in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe).   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1159433/ http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/april/sudans-darkest-hour http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-two-years-war-starvation-global-failure-world-must-act-now http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/04/sudan-faces-worsening-humanitarian-catastrophe-famine-and-conflict-escalate http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/number-children-need-humanitarian-assistance-sudan-doubles-conflict-enters-third http://www.icrc.org/en/news-release/sudan-new-report-sheds-light-two-years-devastation-sudan http://www.msf.org/two-years-war-sudan-leave-millions-more-need-ever http://news.un.org/en/tags/sudan http://www.unocha.org/latest/news-and-stories?responses=30   Mar. 2025   Three years into the war in Ukraine, one third of population in frontlines regions struggle to find enough to eat   As the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, an estimated five million Ukrainians are facing food insecurity, with the greatest needs concentrated in areas near the frontlines.   According to data collected by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), millions of people are resorting to coping mechanisms, sacrificing their own meals so their children can eat. Others are going into debt to buy sufficient food supplies to feed their families.   WFP continues to provide food and cash assistance to nearly 1.5 million Ukrainians each month, mostly in the frontline regions. Despite these efforts, more than half of the people in the Kherson region in the south face severe hunger, and, two out of every five individuals face hunger in Zaporizhzhia as well as the Donetsk region in the east.   "Families in frontline regions are struggling to put food on the table, forcing them to make heartbreaking choices just to get by," said Richard Ragan, WFP Country Director in Ukraine. “As we look forward to sustainable peace in what is considered to be one of the world’s historical breadbasket regions, we must face the reality that humanitarian aid continues to be a lifeline for millions.”   According to WFP monitoring, 72 percent of those who receive food assistance reported having to cut back on food, buy less nutritious food, skip meals, or borrow money to feed their family. Across six frontline regions almost a third of all people are food insecure.   In areas close to the war, commercial supply chains are disrupted, infrastructure is often damaged or destroyed, and the opportunities to earn money are scarce. Where supermarkets are accessible and stocked, many families cannot afford nutritious food. The cost of basic food items rose by 25 percent in the last year, with some staple vegetables more than doubling in price.   Since March 2022, WFP has provided assistance in Ukraine equivalent to 3.3 billion meals and distributed 445,000 metric tons of food.   Meanwhile, the challenges of delivering lifesaving assistance near the frontlines have been growing. In the last six months, WFP food distribution points and the vehicles or assets of its local humanitarian partners have been hit by drones, shelling or missiles more than 20 times, putting humanitarian operations at risk.   http://www.wfp.org/news/three-years-ukraine-war-one-third-population-frontline-regions-struggle-find-enough-eat http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/february/ukraine-three-years-on-sharp-increase-in-basic-needs-along-the-frontline http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-after-three-years-war-ukrainians-need-peace-and-aid http://www.msf.org/medical-humanitarian-needs-ukraine-remain-urgent-ever http://www.ifrc.org/article/ukraine-ifrc-president-kate-forbes-reflects-scars-conflict-and-long-road-recovery http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/press-releases/suspension-of-us-international-aid-has-serious-consequences-as-ukraine-marks-three-years-of-war/ http://unocha.exposure.co/ukraine-three-years-of-fullscale-war http://www.savethechildren.net/news/ukraine-i-fear-i-wont-be-able-help-my-child-75-people-struggling-make-ends-meet-after-3-years http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/three-years-loss-and-fear-war-ukraine-shatters-childrens-lives Visit the related web page
	Closer than ever: It is now 89 seconds to midnight by Red Cross, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists   Aug. 2025   80 years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: A call to eliminate nuclear weapons, from the President of the Japanese Red Cross Society, Atsushi Seike, and President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric.   “Let all the souls here rest in peace for we shall not repeat the evil.”   These are the words carved into the stone monument at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Eighty years after the world witnessed the horrifying tragedy caused by nuclear weapons, we must ask ourselves: Are we taking this pledge seriously? Are we doing enough to ensure the memory of what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is not forgotten? And, critically, are enough efforts being made to rid the world of these devastating weapons?   Eighty years ago, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were reduced to ash and tens of thousands perished in mere seconds. The registers of both atomic bombings’ victims exceed 540,000, including those who died after suffering from the long-term effects of radiation. This number continues to grow even now.   To this day, survivors – Hibakusha – continue to endure the physical and emotional toll of these weapons. They are still being treated by Japanese Red Cross hospitals for radiation-induced illnesses. This fact underscores the lasting consequences of nuclear warfare.   The risk of intentional or accidental use of nuclear weapons is terrifyingly real. There are far more nuclear weapons today than there were 80 years ago. They are also far more powerful. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima - with a yield equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT - would today be classified as a small nuclear weapon.   Any use of nuclear weapons would be a catastrophic failure of humanity. In particular, no humanitarian response could ever address the suffering resulting from a nuclear detonation in or near a populated area. It is extremely doubtful that nuclear weapons could ever be used in accordance with the principles and rules of international humanitarian law.   Two years ago, ahead of the G7 Summit held in Hiroshima in May 2023, we issued a joint statement in which we called on the international community to eliminate nuclear weapons.   And yet instead of advancing towards nuclear disarmament, we see a growing emphasis on nuclear weapons in military postures and doctrine along with the renewal and expansion of nuclear arsenals.   However, there is reason to not lose hope. The desire for a world without nuclear weapons is widely shared among many nations. The number of state parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is growing. Seventy-three states are now parties to the treaty and another 25 have signed it.   The experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80 years ago should be proof enough that nuclear weapons are too dangerous for the world to keep.   We again call on all states to never use or threaten to use nuclear weapons, to adopt risk-reduction measures to prevent their deliberate or accidental use, to end reliance on them as a means of national security, and to work towards their complete elimination by joining the TPNW or other similar means.   We also urge governments to provide education to ensure that awareness of the dangers of nuclear weapons is passed on to future generations so that the unimaginable harm they inflict on civilians is never forgotten.   http://www.icrc.org/en/article/hiroshima-80-years-humanitarian-imperative-eliminate-nuclear-weapons http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165583 http://www.dw.com/en/japan-marks-80-years-since-the-hiroshima-atomic-bombing/a-73542738 http://www.dw.com/en/risk-of-nuclear-war-grows-amid-new-arms-race/a-72894853 http://www.icanw.org/80years http://childrenspeacememorial.org/ http://www.icanw.org/hibakusha http://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2024/nihon-hidankyo/lecture/ http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hidankyo/nihon/english/weapons/weapons1.html http://theelders.org/news/no-more-hiroshimas-elders-call-urgent-nuclear-dialogue-conflict-risks-rise http://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2025/nuclear-risks-grow-new-arms-race-looms-new-sipri-yearbook-out-now   http://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2024/role-nuclear-weapons-grows-geopolitical-relations-deteriorate-new-sipri-yearbook-out-now http://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/nuclear-risk/ http://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2024-08-06/secretary-generals-message-the-hiroshima-peace-memorial-the-79th-anniversary-of-the-atomic-bombing-of-hiroshima http://www.un.org/en/observances/nuclear-weapons-elimination-day http://disarmament.unoda.org/wmd/nuclear/   http://thebulletin.org/2025/07/the-nobel-laureate-assembly-declaration-for-the-prevention-of-nuclear-war/ http://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02271-w http://futureoflife.org/project/artificial-escalation/ http://futureoflife.org/project/mitigating-the-risks-of-ai-integration-in-nuclear-launch/   Any use of nuclear weapons would be catastrophic for humanity. Even a “limited” nuclear war involving only 250 of the 13 000 nuclear weapons in the world could kill 120 million people outright and cause global climate disruption leading to a nuclear famine, putting 2 billion people at risk.   A large-scale nuclear war between the USA and Russia could kill 200 million people or more in the near term, and potentially cause a global “nuclear winter” that could kill 5–6 billion people, threatening the survival of humanity.   Once a nuclear weapon is detonated, escalation to all-out nuclear war could occur rapidly. The prevention of any use of nuclear weapons is therefore an urgent public health priority and fundamental steps must also be taken to address the root cause of the problem—by abolishing nuclear weapons.   http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01526-X/fulltext http://www.icanw.org/catastrophic_harm http://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00573-0 http://www.ippnw.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ENGLISH-Nuclear-Famine-Report-Final-bleed-marks.pdf http://www.icrc.org/en/document/avoiding-catastrophe-we-must-act-now-ensure-nuclear-weapons-are-never-again-used http://international-review.icrc.org/sites/default/files/reviews-pdf/2022-06/the-icrcs-legal-and-policy-position-on-nuclear-weapons-919.pdf http://commonsecurity.org   Feb. 2025   Closer than ever: It is now 89 seconds to midnight - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists   In 2024, humanity edged ever closer to catastrophe. Trends that have deeply concerned the Science and Security Board continued, and despite unmistakable signs of danger, national leaders and their societies have failed to do what is needed to change course. Consequently, we now move the Doomsday Clock from 90 seconds to 89 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been to catastrophe.   Our fervent hope is that leaders will recognize the world’s existential predicament and take bold action to reduce the threats posed by nuclear weapons, climate change, and the potential misuse of biological science and a variety of emerging technologies.   In setting the Clock one second closer to midnight, we send a stark signal: Because the world is already perilously close to the precipice, a move of even a single second should be taken as an indication of extreme danger and an unmistakable warning that every second of delay in reversing course increases the probability of global disaster.   In regard to nuclear risk, the war in Ukraine, now in its third year, looms over the world; the conflict could become nuclear at any moment because of a rash decision or through accident or miscalculation.   Conflict in the Middle East threatens to spiral out of control into a wider war without warning. The countries that possess nuclear weapons are increasing the size and role of their arsenals, investing hundreds of billions of dollars in weapons that can destroy civilization.   The nuclear arms control process is collapsing, and high-level contacts among nuclear powers are totally inadequate given the danger at hand. Alarmingly, it is no longer unusual for countries without nuclear weapons to consider developing arsenals of their own—actions that would undermine longstanding nonproliferation efforts and increase the ways in which nuclear war could start.   The impacts of climate change increased in the last year as myriad indicators, including sea-level rise and global surface temperature, surpassed previous records. The global greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change continued to rise. Extreme weather and other climate change-influenced events—floods, tropical cyclones, heat waves, drought, and wildfires—affected every continent.   The long-term prognosis for the world’s attempts to deal with climate change remains poor, as most governments fail to enact the financing and policy initiatives necessary to halt global warming. Growth in solar and wind energy has been impressive but remains insufficient to stabilize the climate.   Judging from recent electoral campaigns, climate change is viewed as a low priority in the United States and many other countries.   In the biological arena, emerging and re-emerging diseases continue to threaten the economy, society, and security of the world. The off-season appearance and in-season continuance of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), its spread to farm animals and dairy products, and the occurrence of human cases have combined to create the possibility of a devastating human pandemic.   Supposedly high-containment biological laboratories continue to be built throughout the world, but oversight regimes for them are not keeping pace, increasing the possibility that pathogens with pandemic potential may escape.   Rapid advances in artificial intelligence have increased the risk that terrorists or countries may attain the capability of designing biological weapons for which countermeasures do not exist.   An array of other disruptive technologies advanced last year in ways that make the world more dangerous. Systems that incorporate artificial intelligence in military targeting have been used in Ukraine and the Middle East, and several countries are moving to integrate artificial intelligence into their militaries.   Such efforts raise questions about the extent to which machines will be allowed to make military decisions—even decisions that could kill on a vast scale, including those related to the use of nuclear weapons.   Tensions among the major powers are increasingly reflected in competition in space, where China and Russia are actively developing anti-satellite capabilities; the United States has alleged that Russia has tested a satellite with a dummy warhead on it, suggesting plans to place nuclear weapons in orbit.   The dangers we have just listed are greatly exacerbated by a potent threat multiplier: the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories that degrade the communication ecosystem and increasingly blur the line between truth and falsehood.   Advances in AI are making it easier to spread false or inauthentic information across the internet—and harder to detect it.   At the same time, nations are engaging in cross-border efforts to use disinformation and other forms of propaganda to subvert elections, while some technology, media, and political leaders aid the spread of lies and conspiracy theories.   This corruption of the information ecosystem undermines the public discourse and honest debate upon which democracy depends. The battered information landscape is also producing leaders who discount science and endeavor to suppress free speech and human rights, compromising the fact-based public discussions that are required to combat the enormous threats facing the world.   Blindly continuing on the current path is a form of madness. The United States, China, and Russia have the collective power to destroy civilization. These three countries have the prime responsibility to pull the world back from the brink, and they can do so if their leaders seriously commence good-faith discussions about the global threats outlined here.   Despite their profound disagreements, they should take that first step without delay. The world depends on immediate action. It is 89 seconds to midnight.   http://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/2025-statement/ Visit the related web page
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