Wrapping up a visit to the country, Edem Wosornu, who heads operations and advocacy for the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said that she could “feel the momentum for change” on the ground after years of suffering and hardship under the Assad regime ended with its overthrow last December.

But formidable challenges remain as 16.5 million Syrians require humanitarian assistance and protection, and needs are “staggering”.

Speaking from Gaziantep, a humanitarian hub in Türkiye just across the Syrian border, Ms. Wosornu noted an “encouraging trend of returns” since last December.

Over one million internally displaced people have come back to their areas of origin, she said, and more than half a million refugees have returned from neighbouring countries according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

Devastated homes and opportunities

The OCHA official cited insecurity, damaged homes, inadequate services, lack of livelihood opportunities and the threat of unexploded ordnance as “key barriers” preventing people returning.

“People say, first and foremost they want security,” she stressed.

While the level of hostilities in the country has subsided, Ms. Wosornu said, localized tensions and clashes remain a “major concern”.

Remnants of heavy fighting pose a continued threat to civilians, said Dr Altaf Musani, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)’s Director of Health Emergencies.

He pointed to at least 909 casualties from unexploded ordnance since December 2024, including some 400 deaths – a majority of them women and children.

“We’re starting to see the admission rates and consultation rates in emergency rooms increase… Children and women, going about their daily life, trying to get water, trying to get food, trying to rebuild,” are walking through agricultural land, roads and rivers where unexploded munitions could be hiding, he said.

Camp residents at highest risk

Diseases, such as cholera and acute watery diarrhoea, are spreading, Dr. Musani said, stressing that more than 1,444 suspect cases of cholera and seven associated deaths have been recorded.

“This is particularly in Latakia and Aleppo, particularly around displacement camps,” he said.

“We know that when cholera gets hold in camps, it can serve as a brush fire, increasing both morbidity and mortality.”

The WHO official warned that more than 416,000 children in Syria are at risk from severe malnutrition and that more than half of children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition are not receiving treatment.

“From a public health standpoint, we need to be able to watch that risk and intervene and save those children,” he said.

Pregnancy dangers

Dr. Musani also noted that half of the maternity hospitals in northwest Syria have suspended operations since September 2024 owing to financial cuts, which humanitarians are “witnessing globally” but which are “really apparent” in Syria.

Underfunding of the humanitarian operation in Syria is already severe. Earlier this week, OCHA’s Coordination Division head, Ramesh Rajasingham, told the Security Council that out of the $2 billion required for the UN and its partners to reach eight million of the most vulnerable people from January through June 2025, only 10 per cent has been received.

The country’s cash-strapped health facilities face a lack of skilled workers and equipment, said WHO’s Dr. Musani. The war had pushed some 50 to 70 per cent of the health workforce to leave the country in search of other opportunities, and the health infrastructure is in dire need of investment.

The WHO official noted that for the health system – the “heartbeat of the nation” – the sanctions imposed on the country during the Assad regime had resulted in a lack of much-needed upgrades, compromising the purchase of new MRI machines, CT scanners, laboratory equipment and software upgrades.

Over the past two weeks, both the United States and the European Union have moved to lift the sanctions. OCHA’s Ms. Wosornu expressed hope that thanks to this development “we’ll see the impact on goods and services, on the cost of doing operations in the country, on the ability to move goods quicker into the country”.

But “it will take time”, she added. “I believe the people of Syria are hopeful that this will change their everyday lives.”

Addressing reporters outside the Security Council, António Guterres called once again for a permanent ceasefire to end the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and full humanitarian access so aid can flow in following nearly 80 days of Israeli blockade.

‘Cruellest phase’

He said Palestinians in the enclave are now “enduring what may be the cruellest phase of this cruel conflict,” with families being “starved and denied the very basics,” as Israel intensifies its offensive and promotes a new privatised aid distribution network reportedly due to begin on Sunday which would bypass the UN and partner organizations’ aid operation.

Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to treat civilians in Gaza humanely, Mr. Guterres added, and “must not forcibly transport, deport or displace the civilian population of an occupied territory.”

He noted that despite authorising a “trickle of aid” to enter in recent days, supplies from only 115 out of 400 trucks have been cleared for collection and distribution – while nothing has reached the besieged north.

UN ‘working round the clock’

“We are working around the clock to get whatever aid we can to people in need,” the UN chief said, but “needs are massive – and the obstacles are staggering.”

Israel is causing unnecessary delays, imposing quotas on distribution and barring essentials such as fuel, shelter, cooking gas, and water purification supplies – are prohibited.

Furthermore, the lives of UN and other humanitarian staffers are being placed at risk if they continue to be prevented from distributing food parcels and flour to those in desperate need, the UN chief continued.

He said absent rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access, more Gazans will die – with profound long-term consequences.

Without making direct reference to the US-backed Israeli plan to create new distribution sites overseen by private contractors in coordination with the military, Mr. Guterres said the UN had been clear: “We will not take part in any scheme that fails to respect international law and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.”

5-point aid plan

Instead, he said the UN and partners had “a detailed, principled, operationally-sound 5-stage plan” – supported by UN Member States.

1. Ensure the delivery of aid to Gaza
2. Inspect and scan aid at crossing points
3. Transport aid from crossing points to humanitarian facilities
4. Prepare aid for onward distribution
5. And transport aid to people in need

“We have the personnel, the distribution networks, the systems and community relationships in place to act,” said the UN chief. “The supplies – 160,000 pallets, enough to fill nearly 9,000 trucks – are waiting.

“This is my appeal for life-saving aid for the long-suffering people of Gaza: Let’s do it right.  And let’s do it right away.”

Conflict has plagued the DRC for decades, particularly in the east. Armed clashes escalated sharply this year as M23 rebels wrested control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in January, followed by Bukavu in South Kivu a month later.

The security and humanitarian situation further deteriorated with recent outbreaks of anthrax and mpox in April and May, fuelled by overcrowded conditions and poor sanitation.

Deepening food insecurity

WFP’s latest report estimates that 7.9 million people are food insecure in the conflict-affected eastern provinces, with 28 million in need across the country.

Food production in Grand Nord, an important agricultural hub in eastern DRC, has been slashed due to recent conflict and displacement. In addition, the closure of Goma’s airport – critical for aid delivery – continues to disrupt operations.

Despite these challenges, WFP reached 1.1 million people in the east between January and March, providing school meals and take-home rations for 100,000 children, nutrition supplements for 340,000 children and pregnant or breastfeeding women – along with logistics and supply chain assistance.

Regional turbulence

The 140,000 Congolese who have fled to neighbouring countries since January – mainly Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania – have turned a national emergency into a regional crisis.

Refugee camps in these countries, already under strain from refugees from other countries, are struggling to absorb the new arrivals.

WFP warned that the surge in need is outpacing available resources. Budget constraints have forced the agency to make sharp cuts: food rations have been halved in Burundi, while cash support has also been halved in Rwanda.

In Uganda, the number of refugees receiving assistance has dropped from 1.6 million to 630,000. In Tanzania, food rations have been reduced from 82 to 65 per cent.

To sustain its emergency operations, WFP is appealing for $433 million to support its work inside the DRC through October.

Additional funding needs include $16.6 million to provide full food assistance in Burundi through 2025, $12 million to maintain full rations for refugees in Rwanda through 2025, $26 million to sustain operations in Uganda through 2025, and $18 million to provide just 75 per cent of full rations in Tanzania through April 2026.