(UN News)* —The humanitarian crisis in Haiti has reached a critical point, with one in eight children now internally displaced due to escalating violence fuelled by armed groups who continue to control most of the capital, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Geneva/ Port-au-Prince, 14 January 2024 – More than a million people are now internally displaced in Haiti, according to alarming new figures released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
IOM team in Port-au-Prince conducts an assessment among displaced people to understand the needs, scale and complexity of the crisis, and inform distributions of essential items. Photo: IOM 2024/Antoine Lemonnier
The latest data reveals that 1,041,000 people, many displaced multiple times, are struggling amidst an intensifying humanitarian crisis. Children bear the greatest burden of displacement, making up over half of the displaced population.
(UN News)* — The world is entering a new era of crisis for children; climate change, inequality and conflict are disrupting their lives and limiting their futures, an authoritative study from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns.
At the beginning of each year, UNICEF looks ahead to the risks that children are likely to face and suggests ways to reduce the potential harm.
The latest report, Prospects for Children 2025: Building Resilient Systems for Children’s Futures, demands strengthening national systems that are designed to mitigate the impacts of crises on children and ensure they have access to the support they need.
Here is a breakdown of the main trends to look out for in 2025:
‘Famine conditions are spreading’ as Sudan’s crisis worsens: UN Security Council
UN Photo/Loey Felipe | OCHA’s Edem Wosornu addresses the Security Council meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict in Sudan.
(UN News)* —Human suffering in Sudan has reached devastating levels, with over 11.5 million people internally displaced and 3.2 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.
(UN News)* — “We saw dead bodies scattered to the left and right, decomposing in the sun”, recounts Jonathan Dumont, Head of Emergency Communications at the World Food Programme (WFP). A veteran of conflict zones around the world, he says that the destruction and suffering he witnessed in Gaza is on a “different scale”.
Since the fierce bombardment of Gaza by Israel began in October 2023, in response to a deadly Hamas attack on the country, over 45,000 Palestinians have been killed, and over 100,000 injured.
The vast majority of Gazans, around 90 per cent, are internally displaced, forced to relocate several times to avoid airstrikes and fighting.
(UN News)* —Newborns and infants in Gaza have reportedly died of hypothermia, deaths described by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as preventable. The news comes amid continued Israeli bombardments and an expected further drop in temperatures.
In Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes are sheltering in tents, the temperatures are expected to drop further in the coming days.
Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, reported in a statement on Friday [] that, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, four newborns and infants died in recent days from hypothermia.
(UN News)* — Fresh details of the Israeli airstrike on Sana’a airport, which occurred as Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) was preparing to fly out of the country, have been provided by Julien Harneis, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen.
On 26 December, Israeli forces struck Sana’a International Airport, Red Sea ports and power stations. Tedros was at the airport when it was hit, along with Mr. Harneis and other members of a UN party negotiating the release of several UN workers held hostage by Ansar Allah, the de facto authorities in Sana’a.
Tedros and his colleagues were finally able to leave Yemen on Friday [].
(Jerusalem) –Israeli authorities have intentionally deprived Palestinian civilians in Gaza of adequate access to water since October 2023, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths and thus committing the crime against humanity of extermination and acts of genocide, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on 19 December 2024.
Israel’s Crime of Extermination, Acts of Genocide in Gaza
(UN News)* —The UN Secretary-General on Thursday [] condemned the deadly escalation between Yemen and Israel, following Israeli airstrikes that reportedly killed at least three people, injured dozens, and struck critical civilian infrastructure, including Sana’a International Airport.
The strikes targeted Sana’a International Airport, Red Sea ports, and power stations, injuring also a member of the UN Humanitarian Air Crew at the airport.
A high-level UN delegation, led by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was at the airport when the strikes occurred, following discussions on Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and the release of detained UN personnel.
As we near the end of another year of war and humanitarian crisis, UN News is highlighting the extraordinary work of staffers in the field who feed our story-telling efforts for global audiences.
UNRWA | UNRWA worker Louise Wateridge visiting a shelter in Nuseirat, Gaza (Nov 2024)
Our first UN News Champion is Louise Wateridge of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNWRA. Louise’s reporting and communications expertise has enriched our coverage and demonstrated why the UN matters to millions of beneficiaries around the world.
© WFP/Jonathan Dumont | Gazans in Khan Younis desperate to receive WFP rice.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 