(UN News)*— Dire predictions about escalating hunger in Sudan have tragically come true, as conflict-induced food scarcity has plunged 20.3 million people into severe acute hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday [].
Of that figure, 6.3 million people – 13 per cent of Sudan’s population – are experiencing emergency levels of hunger – classified as Phase 4 of the Integrated Food Security Classification – just one step from famine, with the conflict continuing to disrupt access to humanitarian aid and forcing millions to flee their homes.
(UN News)* — The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) on Tuesday [] revealed compelling evidence of the country’s military and affiliate militias engaging in more frequent and audacious war crimes and crimes against humanity.
IRIN/Steve Sandford | Two soldiers stand guard at a post in northern Myanmar. (file)
These include indiscriminate attacks on civilians from aerial bombing, mass executions of civilians and detained combatants, and large-scale and intentional burning of civilian homes and buildings, resulting in the destruction of entire villages in some cases, the Mechanism said in a news release.
“Every loss of life in Myanmar is tragic, but the devastation caused to whole communities through aerial bombardments and village burnings is particularly shocking,” said Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Mechanism.
()* — A significant surge in dengue fever cases has gripped Bangladesh, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Friday [], calling for efforts to control the mosquito vector population and minimize individual exposure such as using mosquito repellents and wearing long-sleeved clothes.
IAEA | Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are one of primary vectors for dengue. (file)
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The outbreak, which escalated rapidly since late June, has seen a total of 69,483 confirmed cases and 327 related deaths between 1 January and 7 August, with a case fatality rate of 0.47 per cent, according to the UN health agency. The cases were reported from all 64 districts in the country.
How untapped indigenous knowledge can prevent catastrophic wildfires and combat global warming. As an increasing number of countries struggle to deal with wildfires that have become more frequent and more destructive, UNESCO is highlighting the untapped value of alternative models for fire management based on traditional knowledge.
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Copyright: Elkins Eye Visuals
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9 August 2023 (UNESCO)* — For thousands of years, Indigenous Peoples have woven fire into the fabric of their existence, understanding that this destructive force could also be used as a powerful tool.
In the Guyana Shield region of South America, these communities have harnessed fire through intentional and precise burns to sculpt their surroundings, nurture their ecosystems, and enhance their livelihoods.
ALEPPO, Syrian Arab Republic, 4 August 2023 (UNFPA)* – “My suffering started with the crisis in Syria, then the economic situation got worse, and the last straw was the earthquake.”
Najwa Bikdash, 52, is from the Bustan Al Zahra neighbourhood in Aleppo. After 20 years of marriage, her husband abandoned her and their four daughters, leaving the family to fend for themselves financially.
(UN News)* — The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, voiced concern on Tuesday [] over the situation in Mexico, where refugees and migrants aspiring to get to the United States find themselves in cramped shelters, exposed to multiple risks.
At a press conference in Geneva, agency spokesman William Spindler pointed out that “the capacity to receive and provide assistance to refugees and migrants has been exceeded for months” in that border area.
“The humanitarian situation on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border continues to be serious,” he stressed, explaining that families with young children arrive there distraught and disoriented.
(UN News)* — Record numbers of migrants are crossing the Darién jungle in Latin America in a desperate and perilous journey, including from as far off as Nepal and Afghanistan, UN agencies said on , highlighting the urgency of finding safe and regular pathways.
Crossing the Darién jungle – on the border between Colombia and Panama – and its infamous and so-called Darién Gap, is an arduous undertaking, involving hikes over steep mountains, enduring torrential rain and fording swift rivers. Those on the move are also at risk of robbery and rape.
Belet Weyne, 8 August 2023 (IOM)* – Zamzan knows the devastation of climate shocks all too well. First, drought pushed her to move away from the place she had called home for years, then flooding swept away the new home she’d just begun to build for herself and her family.
Aerial view of Belet Weyne in May 2023, a town in central Hirshabelle State, Somalia, severely affected by the floods. Heavy rainfall in Somalia and the highlands of Ethiopia led to the worst floods the region has experienced in 30 years. Photo: IOM
(UN News)* — The global average temperature for July 2023 was the highest on record and likely for at least 120,000 years, the UN weather agency and partners said on Tuesday [].
WMO/Eneko Perez | Global air and ocean temperatures are reaching new record highs.
“The global average temperature for July 2023 is confirmed to be the highest on record for any month,” said Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director at the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. The month is estimated to have been around 1.5C warmer than the average for 1815 to 1900, so the average for pre-industrial times.”
Briefing journalists in Geneva, Ms. Burgess noted that July had been marked by heatwaves “in multiple regions around the world”.
(UN News)* — Two senior UN humanitarian officials have called for more funding and less bureaucratic impediments to support civilians affected by the war in Sudan, including roughly 14 million children.
Ted Chaiban of the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, and Edem Wosornu with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, briefed journalists on their recent mission to the country and Chad, one of several neighbouring nations hosting some 900,000 people who fled the violence.
Fighting between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) recently passed the 100-day mark. Overall, 24 million people across the country require aid.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 