Washington’s military interventions are not just wars on people — they’re also wars on the planet’s climate.
U.S. combat soldier in the rubble at one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces in Baghdad, 24 Apr 2003. (U.S. Air Force, Cherie A. Thurlby, National Archivers, Public domain)
13 Sep 2024 – This week marks 23 years since George W. Bush declared a U.S.-led “war on terror” and the people of Afghanistan and Iraq are still suffering its consequences.
(UN News)* — Some of the world’s poorest countries spend more on debt repayments than health, education and infrastructure combined, severely hampering their chances of developing their economies.
The UN is calling for an overhaul of the entire international financial system, to reduce inequality and improve people’s lives.
“The international financial architecture, crafted in 1945 after the Second World War, is undergoing a stress test of historic proportions – and it is failing that test”, argues UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a 2023 policy brief.
NEW YORK, 16 September 2024 (UNICEF)* – UNICEF has launched an appeal for US$58.8 million to address the rising mpox crisis across six African countries where children are most affected.
UNICEF/UNI633481/Mazinge
Though child deaths are currently confined to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the data underscores their vulnerability, as UNICEF works to scale up prevention and response efforts across the region.
Joint press release: 15 aid organisations demand international pressure for an immediate ceasefire, arms embargo, and end to Israel’s systematic aid obstruction
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Destruction on Al-Nasser Street, Gaza City. Photo: NRC
16 September 2024 (Norwegian Refugee Council)* — New data has revealed the scale of aid obstruction, and the consequential drastic fall in aid entering Gaza.
(UN News)* —Overcrowded shelters in Gaza, a lack of running water and the constant threat of disease are making conditions worse by the day for people in the enclave, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, warned on Monday [].
In a new alert, UNRWA highlighted how Gazans’ shelters have become a target for insects and rodents after more than 11 months of war – echoing deep concerns among humanitarians about the lack of basic hygiene items that have left families unprotected from communicable diseases.
(UN News)* — A school that once served as a place of learning and play for hundreds of children is now a refuge filled with tents and makeshift shelters for those displaced by the ongoing conflict in Gaza, a senior official from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has reported.
In an exclusive interview last Saturday with UN News, Sam Rose, Deputy Director for UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, provided a harrowing account of the devastation.
FAR NORTH REGION, Cameroon, 11 September 2024(UNFPA)* -–As Djamila* clutched her pregnant belly, the floodwaters rose around her, threatening to engulf the fragile canoe she had escaped in.
A pregnant woman is stranded by her house amid recent flooding in Cameroon’s Far North region. Credit: UNFPA Cameroon / Samuel Sawalda
“The water was everywhere,” she told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. “I was so scared – not just for myself, but for my babies. Every minute felt like an eternity.”
At 18, this was her first pregnancy – and she was expecting twins.
12 September 2024 (UNCTAD)* —The staggering scale of economic devastation and unprecedented decline in economic activity far surpasses the impact of all previous military confrontations.
UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released a comprehensive report detailing the profound economic destruction that has gripped the Occupied Palestinian Territory in the aftermath of the Israeli military operation in Gaza that followed the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas.
Over 18.6 million Yemenis, more than half of the total population, currently need humanitarian assistance. Many are living in collective sites or camps for displaced people.
Awareness session with Ali Fuad, a displaced person in Amran governorate, Kharef camp. Photo: NRC
12 September 2024 (Norwegian Refugee Council)* — In such sites, cholera, a disease that can be potentially fatal, poses a significant threat. Lack of access to clean water, proper latrines and health education all contribute to the spread of this disease.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 