By Elshaday Gebeyehu, Jessica Lawson and Elizabeth Bryant | World Food Programme*
WFP warns millions at risk of growing hunger and malnutrition as country is buffeted by a raft of shocks
.
Seven-month-old Eldana counts among millions of malnourished children in Ethiopia. The WFP support she receives may soon run out, due to lack of funds. Photo: WFP/Michael Tewelde
22 April 2025 — At a crowded health post in northern Ethiopia, Belaynesh Berihu cradles tiny daughter Eldana, as a health worker slips a coloured tape around the infant’s arm to gauge malnourishment.
“She eats very little, she doesn’t have an appetite,” says Berihu, whose daughter weighed less than 2 kg at birth. Berihu, too, is painfully thin – surviving on a diet of mostly wheat and teff-based bread.
Statement from UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the situation for children in the Gaza Strip after two months of aid blockade
UNICEF/UNI501989/Al-Qattaa
NEW YORK, 2 May 2025 (UNICEF)* —“For two months, children in the Gaza Strip have faced relentless bombardments while being deprived of essential goods, services and lifesaving care.
With each passing day of the aid blockade, they face the growing risk of starvation, illness and death – nothing can justify this.
“Families are struggling to survive. They are trapped, unable to flee in search of safety. The land they used to farm has been destroyed.
(UN News)* — The UN’s top humanitarian official on Thursday [] issued a stark warning over the continuing blockade of aid into Gaza, calling on Israel to lift restrictions that have left civilians without food, medical care, and hope.
In a powerful statement, Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, condemned Israel’s decision to halt humanitarian assistance as a “cruel collective punishment” of the Palestinian population.
(UN News)* — Lifesaving operations everywhere continue to be shut down by sweeping funding cutbacks which will result in millions of people dying, the UN’s top aid official said on Wednesday [].
“Cutting funding for those in greatest need is not something to boast about…the impact of aid cuts is that millions die,” warned Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher.
30 Apr 2025 – The Danish Refugee Council(DRC) is gravely concerned by the escalating hostilities in Gaza following the collapse of the ceasefire on 18 March.
Since then, Israeli bombardments have intensified, with daily airstrikes triggering repeated, chaotic displacements.
Latin Americans fleeing violence face movement restrictions, exploitation, and asylum barriers, according to a new report.
28 April 2025 — The report, conducted by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and partners through the ProLAC initiative, is based on a survey of 3,611 households across nine countries.
Hands cover the face of a woman displaced by the armed conflict in Colombia. Photo: Elegante Lab/NRC
It reveals that conflict and violence in Latin America are forcing thousands of people to flee their homes, while armed and criminal groups continue to restrict their movement and take advantage of their vulnerabilities.
(UN News)* — Faced with mounting debt and economic stagnation, middle-income countries have issued a call for financial reform, sustainable investment, and a roadmap to escape the so-called “middle-income trap,” at a UN-backed international conference held in Manila, Philippines, which concluded on Tuesday [].
The High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries (MICs), held on 28 and 29 April, was attended by senior representatives from 24 MICs, many of which are highly indebted, leaving them little room for spending on developing their economies.
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 28 2025 (IPS)* –The Trump administration’s hostile attitude towards Western Europe—and the threat to pullout of the 32-member military alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – signifies the danger of losing the longstanding protection of the US nuclear umbrella over Europe.
Credit: Federation of American Scientists (FAS)
Jana Puglierin, director of the German office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, was quoted as saying: “Trump may, or may not, want to leave NATO officially, but he has every means to undermine NATO”.
The organization was born on April 4, 1949, when foreign ministers from 12 nations came together in Washington, D.C. to sign the 1100-page North Atlantic Treaty.
(UN News)* — After suffering almost 18 months of deadly bombardment, displacement and lack of access to basic services, the embattled people of Gaza face yet another challenge: the threat of insects and rodents.
UN News | Environmental health workers from UNRWA spray insecticides amongst shelters for displaced people.
One displaced woman told UN News’s correspondent in Gaza: “In all camps, we suffer from biting insects, especially fleas,” adding that:
“our children suffer from severe pain due to itching and stinging.“ We tried to treat it in simple ways, but the right medicines are not available at the medical centre.”
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 