"SANITATION"

Around 1.5 million people – including tens of thousands of pregnant women, new mothers and newborns – are crammed into Rafah, with insufficient food to eat, hardly any access to medical care, nowhere to sleep, and nowhere safe to go. UNFPA

The United Nations World Water Development Report 2024, published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water, highlighted that tensions over water are exacerbating conflicts worldwide. UNIFEED

In a press conference today (21 Mar), World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said, “WHO’s Member States are meeting to negotiate a historic, legally binding agreement to protect future generations from the impacts of pandemics. There is much agreement between Member States on the objectives of the agreement. Now they need to agree on how to achieve those objectives.” WHO

According to the World Food Programme, the conflict-driven hunger crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is worsening as violence in the eastern province’s surges, forcing families to flee once again. WFP

The latest analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification partnership warned that the situation in Gaza is catastrophic, with northern Gaza facing imminent famine and the rest of the Strip at risk as well. WHO

The devastating hunger situation in Gaza is also affecting doctors and other hospital staff at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Central Gaza. WHO

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) partnership has released its latest update on Gaza warning that the conditions necessary to prevent famine have not been met and the latest evidence confirms that famine is imminent in the northern governorates and projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May 2024. WHO

During a five-day visit to Ethiopia, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Ted Chaiban, urged the international community to immediately scale up their support for children and families to avert a deepening humanitarian catastrophe throughout the country. UNICEF

Children in cities in Ukraine’s frontline areas have been forced to spend between 3,000 and 5,000 hours – equivalent to between four and almost 7 months – sheltering in basements and underground metro stations over the past two years, as air raid alerts sound above. UNICEF

People displaced by the war in Sudan are being assisted in South Sudan, by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Over half a million people have crossed the border into Renk in South Sudan, and are being assisted by IOM through Onward Transport Assistance. IOM