“People in Sudan are not moving by choice, they are running just to find safety,” said Mohamed Refaat, IOM Chief of Mission in Sudan.

Speaking from Port Sudan to journalists in Geneva, he urged all Member States and “everyone who can provide support” for Sudan’s people, to ensure their protection.

Heavy shelling alert

Latest reports from the wartorn country indicate that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) along with allies in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) shelled residential buildings in Dilling, South Kordofan in the last 48 hours. 

The RSF have been at war with the Sudanese army since April 2023 following a breakdown in transition to civilian rule. On 26 October, the paramilitary force overran El Fasher – the regional capital of North Darfur – after a 500-day siege, prompting further mass displacement. Deep concerns persist for those believed to still be trapped inside the city who had to eat peanut shells and animal feed to survive the ordeal. 

‘People are scared’

“Those displacements from Kordofan are not happening sporadically, they are happening because people are scared,” IOM’s Mr. Refaat said. He noted that people were now fleeing from Babanusa, Kadugli and El-Obeid.  

Highlighting deep concerns for vulnerable individuals on the move, the veteran humanitarian official noted that “only women and children” are arriving in White Nile and Gedaref to the east. 

Deep insecurity and violence persist across Sudan, increasing protection risks for civilians and hampering safe humanitarian access. 

There are growing concerns over the rapidly deteriorating situation in Kadugli, the capital city of South Kordofan state where six peacekeepers from Bangladesh were killed in drone attacks last Saturday. The UN blue helmets were at a logistics base in the city, deployed with the UN force in Abyei, the disputed region on the border with South Sudan.

Hundreds of thousands at risk

“In the town of Kadugli, we estimate that there are around 90,000 to 100,000 people in this area who will be displaced if something happened if the fighting continued, if they get access to leaving the city,” Mr. Refaat said. He added that El-Obeid – the capital of North Kordofan – appeared to be just “one or two steps from being the next city under attack…we estimate more than half a million are already going to be impacted.”

Returning to the crisis in El Fasher, the IOM official noted that the UN agency’s displacement tracking matrix had recorded more than 109,000 people who had managed to flee the city and its surrounding villages since it fell in late October to the RSF. 

“Many of them are still stuck in the neighbouring villages not able to move further because of logistics [and] security issues” he said, fuelling concerns for those trying to survive when the essentials for survival have been “completely obliterated”, UN aid teams warned one week ago.

Asked about the impact of severe funding cuts for aid work in the UN and beyond, the IOM chief of mission explained that the agency had lost $83 million worth of resources this year alone. This has forced aid teams to reduce its footprint “massively”, Mr. Refaat explained.

“Because of those cuts, we have to choose which lives we can save and which support we have to stop. So, we would go crossing places where we know that people are absolutely in dire need, but we will leave them and not be able to help them because we have to prioritize those who are absolutely dying.”

According to the latest IPC report – a global tracking of malnutrition and food insecurity – no areas of Gaza are currently classified as being in famine (IPC Phase 5), following improved humanitarian and commercial access after the 10 October ceasefire.  

However, nearly the entire Gaza Strip remains in emergency (IPC Phase 4), with hundreds of thousands of people still experiencing very high acute malnutrition rates.

Between mid-October and the end of November, around 1.6 million people – roughly 77 per cent of the population analysed – faced crisis-level hunger (Phase 3) or worse. This included more than 500,000 people in emergency (Phase 4) and over 100,000 people in catastrophe (Phase 5), the report said.

Gains ‘perilously fragile’

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the latest findings show progress, but warned that the gains remain “fragile – perilously so.”

“Famine has been pushed back. Far more people are able to access the food they need to survive,” he told reporters at UN Headquarters, in New York

He added, however, that 1.6 million people in Gaza – more than 75 per cent of the population – “are projected to face extreme levels of acute food insecurity and critical malnutrition risks.”

The IPC analysis projects that through mid-April 2026, around 571,000 people will remain in emergency conditions, while approximately 1,900 people are expected to continue facing catastrophe-level hunger. Under a worst-case scenario – including renewed hostilities or a halt in humanitarian and commercial inflows – the entire Gaza Strip could again face famine.

Malnutrition major concern

Malnutrition remains a major concern, particularly among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.  

Nearly 101,000 children aged six to 59 months are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition through mid-October 2026, including more than 31,000 severe cases. An estimated 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are also projected to require treatment.

While food aid has increased, the report stresses that assistance is largely meeting only basic survival needs. Health services, water and sanitation systems, housing and livelihoods remain badly damaged, leaving families vulnerable – particularly during winter.

‘Truly durable’ ceasefire needed

“Families are enduring the unendurable,” Mr. Guterres said, describing children sleeping in flooded tents and buildings collapsing under heavy rain and wind.

He said humanitarian teams are preparing more than 1.5 million hot meals daily, reopening nutrition centres and restoring water and health services, but warned that needs continue to grow faster than aid delivery.

“We need a truly durable ceasefire,” he said, calling for more crossings into Gaza, fewer restrictions on critical supplies, safe routes within the Strip, sustained funding and unimpeded humanitarian access.

The IPC report underscores that without sustained and expanded access, continued aid and the rebuilding of essential infrastructure, Gaza’s food security situation could rapidly deteriorate again, with long-lasting consequences for an already traumatized population.

The prevalence of undernourishment in the region declined to 6.4 per cent in 2024, down from seven per cent in 2023, marking a significant improvement, according to the report.

This progress translates into 25 million people escaping hunger in just one year.

Progress is uneven, however, with nearly 80 per cent of people living in South Asia at risk. Overall, Asia and the Pacific region still account for nearly 40 per cent of the world’s hungry.

Cost is the culprit

In 2024, 24.4 per cent of children under five were stunted, with South Asia recording the highest prevalence. On the other hand, adult obesity continues to rise, particularly in Oceania (Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific)

The report finds that the cost of a healthy diet in the region averaged higher than the global average last year, at $4.77 per person per day on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).

Among other key recommendations, the report calls on countries to strengthen multi sector policies addressing food insecurity and nutrition.

Key Gaza water pipeline repaired, but miserable conditions remain

In Gaza, a key water pipeline in the south is back up and running, after a repair team was granted access to the site by Israeli authorities.

The UN aid coordination office (OCHA) reported a week ago that the main water line running from Israel into Khan Younis in southern Gaza had sustained damage and was out of service – representing a key concern for the enclave’s 2.1 million people.

A request to reach the site and make repairs was denied at the time.

Preparing for winter

Meanwhile, amid cold winter temperatures, UN agencies and partners continue to work to help Gazans stay warm.

This includes UNICEF, which welcomed support from Sweden for winterisation supplies, sanitation, nutrition and humanitarian cash transfers for children and families.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) also highlighted the critical need for safe and sturdy shelters.

With assistance from the Republic of Korea, the agency has replaced more than 800 worn-out tents for displaced Gazans, but it’s only a start, UNDP insisted.

New influenza strain circulates in Europe, says WHO

The early arrival of seasonal influenza has continued sweeping across Europe, with at least 27 European countries reporting “high or very high” flu activity as of Wednesday.

In six countries – Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, and the UK – more than one in two patients with influenza-like symptoms tested positive for the virus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

New variant dominates

The UN agency confirmed that a new influenza variant called A (H3N2) now accounts for up to 90 per cent of all confirmed cases in the European region.

“It shows how just a small genetic variation in the flu virus can place enormous pressure on our health systems because people don’t have built-up immunity against it,” said Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

He also emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated quickly.

As in previous episodes of influenza, school-aged children are the primary drivers of community spread. But adults aged at least 65 are usually most at risk, constituting the majority of severe cases that require hospitalisation.