Addressing the General Assembly, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said the agency is essential to the stability and reconstruction of the destroyed Gaza Strip – and the region as a whole.

He stressed that a “virulent” disinformation campaign has tarnished his reputation and strangled his funds.

“Reduction or termination of UNRWA services will have serious consequences for the region“, warned Mr. Lazzarini. “In Gaza, this would compromise stabilization and recovery, compromising the political path forward. “

Protecting yourself against radicalization

UNRWA has operated since 1950 and provides basic services, protection and humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Check out our UN News explanation here on the agency following the Israeli Knesset’s decision to ban UNRWA last year.

In 2024, the agency provided emergency food assistance to approximately 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza. It also provides 40 percent of all primary health care and provides in-person learning for more than 50,000 children.

“We have succeeded in educating generations of Palestinians who are successful global citizens, enriching communities in the region and beyond, in Europe and North America,” said Mr. Lazzarini.

Speaking later to reporters in New York, he added that “If rubble and trauma become the new learning environment, there is indeed a risk that these children will be exploited in the future and join armed groups or become radicalized..”

Fears of instability due to declining funding

The agency has come under scrutiny following Israeli allegations that UNRWA personnel were involved in the October 7 attacks, and the United States, traditionally the agency’s largest donor, cut off all funding in 2023.

The Palestine Task Force raised concerns with the General Assembly about the agency’s massive underfunding and its potential destabilizing impact on the broader region, saying “it is imperative that UNRWA, as an indispensable agency, continues to receive the support necessary to resolve its financial crisis and help alleviate the catastrophic situation in Gaza.”

Ambassador Feda Abdelhady, deputy permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, called the agency “indispensable and irreplaceable.”

“We urge all States to remain steadfast and principled in their support of UNRWA, duly recognizing its vital role. »

As climate negotiations continue in the Amazon city of Belém, Brazil, governments, UN agencies and partners have adopted the Belém Health Action Planwith a focus on addressing health care inequities.

For updates on all UN actions and media coverage so far, go to our dedicated page here.

A planet on the way to “intensive care”

The adoption took place on the day designated by the COP. Health Day – a recognition that the climate crisis is also a health crisis.

“If our planet were a patient, it would be admitted to intensive care,” the World Health Organization said (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on the eve of the conference.

Extreme heat, floods, droughts and storms are not only environmental threats: they cause disease outbreaks, food and water insecurity and the disruption of essential health services.

Resilience plan

Developed by WHO, the United Nations University (UNU) and other UN partners in collaboration with the Brazilian government, the Action Plan sets out practical steps to integrate health into climate strategies.

• Strengthening health systems resist climatic shocks
• Mobilizing finance and technology for adaptation and
• Ensuring communities have a voicepromoting their participation in governance.

Brazilian Health Minister Alexandre Padilha described the launch as “a crucial moment to demonstrate the strength of the health sector in global climate action.”

Solution Center

Thursday’s high-level sessions in the main conference halls are dominated by speeches and discussions on climate and health – but throughout COP30, the WHO-led health pavilion has been the hub of solutions and dialogue.

Topics covered in the pavilion range from AI to waste management, employment, education and human rights, all from a health perspective.

Friday at the pavilion will be dedicated to Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Healtha WHO-led initiative to accelerate the transition to climate-resilient, low-carbon health systems.

Food waste breakthrough

Also today, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and its partners have launched an initiative to halve food waste by 2030 and reduce methane emissions by up to seven percent as part of efforts to slow climate change.

UNEP notes that the world wastes more than a billion tonnes of food each year, accounting for up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and up to 14 percent of emissions of methane, a short-lived climate pollutant that is 84 times more potent in warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over 20 years.

Funded by the Global Environment FacilityThe United Nations Environment Program will launch a four-year, $3 million global project to implement the Food Waste Breakthrough goals.

So far, eight possible cases have been reported in the southern region of Ethiopia and laboratory tests are underway to determine the exact cause.

Health workers are among those infected, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet.

What is viral hemorrhagic fever?

Viral hemorrhagic fevers are a group of epidemic-prone diseases caused by several distinct families of viruses and include Marburg and Ebola viral diseases, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and Lassa fever.

They can range from relatively mild to seriously life-threatening and are characterized by sudden onset of muscle and joint pain, fever, bleeding, and shock from blood loss.

Bleeding, or hemorrhage, from internal orifices and organs is an important symptom in severe cases.

Transmission can occur in several ways depending on the disease, including contact with symptomatic patients, through slaughtering practices and by direct contact with rodents or their droppings in the case of Lassa fever.

Healthcare professionals, supplies and funds

“WHO has deployed experts to affected towns, along with medicines and other materials to support care for those in need.and personal protective equipment for health workers,” Tedros said.

The 11 technical officers will assist in several areas, including disease surveillance, investigation and testing, and infection prevention and control.

The agency is providing other critical supplies, including a rapid-deployment isolation tent to bolster clinical care and management capabilities.

Tedros also released $300,000 in the WHO Emergency Fund for Emergencies provide immediate support to national authorities.

“WHO offices in Ethiopia and South Sudan work closely to prevent possible cross-border transmission“, he said, and the agency “stands ready to increase its support, if necessary”.

Warning that children’s sense of stability and security has been eroded by the collapse of key daily services, humanitarians insist young Gazans will need “sustained, long-term efforts to recover”.

According to child safety partner assessments carried out in September, shared by the UN aid coordination office (OCHA), 93 percent exhibited aggressive behavior and 90 percent were violent toward young children.

Sadness and withdrawal are almost as common (86 percent), as are trouble sleeping (79 percent) and general refusal to study (69 percent).

Everyday violence

Although a fragile ceasefire holds, deadly violence and insecurity have not completely stopped, with Israeli military strikes near or east of the “Yellow Line.”

This is where the Israeli army remains deployed, representing more than 50 percent of the Gaza Strip, OCHA said.

In an update, the UN humanitarian office noted that access to the sea remains prohibited; it also cites reports that Palestinian fishermen continue to be detained at sea by Israeli forces.

“In areas beyond the “Yellow Line”…daily detonations of residential buildings continue to be reported and access to humanitarian resources, public infrastructure and agricultural land remains restricted, if not completely prohibited.“, says the OCHA update.

One million still homeless

Of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents, around one million now live in 862 displacement sites.

More than half of these sites are in the southernmost area of ​​Khan Younis, 264 in Deir al Balah, 180 in Gaza and northern Gaza governorates and eight in Rafah.

Many camps are overcrowded, increasing dangers for girls and children, particularly those with disabilities who are exposed to violence, neglect and unsafe access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities.

The United Nations relief agency for Palestine, UNRWAsaid about 75,000 people live in and around 100 of its designated shelters.

Growing anxiety

UN humanitarian partners helping young people report they are experiencing increased anxiety, changes in behavior and growing concern over the continued lack of safe spaces.

In the four weeks since an agreed pause in fighting, humanitarian partners have provided child protection services to more than 132,000 people in the Gaza Strip. This includes almost 1,600 children with disabilities and 45,000 caregivers, OCHA said.

Assistance included individual psychological consultations, group sessions, stress management activities, recreational psychosocial support, and referrals for further help.

The goal is to reach more than 100,000 children every month to meet the needs of nearly a million children in the Gaza Strip.

This development comes as Israeli authorities announce the reopening of the Zikim crossing after an eight-week closure.

The crossing connects Israel and northern Gaza and will be reopened to humanitarian cargo, OCHA said. In recent weeks, the UN has repaired the road leading to Zikim inside Gaza in preparation for its reopening and is currently carrying out final checks – including for possible explosion hazards – to allow collection of goods to resume.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva set the tone during the opening session, declaring that the battle for truth has become just as crucial as the fight to reduce emissions. COP30 must mark “a new defeat for climate deniers,” he declared.

On Wednesday, 12 nations – including Brazil, Canada, France, Germany and Spain – connected the first-ever Statement on Climate Change Information Integrity, pledging to combat the flood of false content and protect those on the front lines of the truth: journalists, scientists and environmental researchers.

The statement, unveiled as part of the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change, calls for concrete steps to dismantle webs of climate lies and protect evidence-based voices from harassment and attacks.

João Brant, Brazil’s secretary for digital policies, said the goal is simple but urgent: “to create a wave of truth.”

The initiative, launched in June, is a partnership between Brazil, the United Nations Department of Global Communications and UNESCO.

Disinformation: a direct threat to COP30

Frederico Assis, COP30 special envoy for information integrity, warned that the stakes could not be higher. “Disinformation, driven by obscurantist worldviews, fuels political extremism and puts lives at risk,” he told UN News, adding that there is a real danger of interference in climate negotiations.

“It is widely recognized that disinformation can affect and compromise every part of the COP process – the diplomatic negotiations process, the agenda or mobilization and the summits. All our efforts will be at risk if we fail to properly combat disinformation, which arises from denial,” Mr. Assis said.

He highlighted the role of algorithms that amplify “conspiratorial and manipulative” content, often using “sophisticated tactics to spread false messages.” Its mandate: to keep the issue in the public eye and mobilize political, religious and social leaders, civil society and the media to address it.

Cracking the code behind climate lies

For the first time, information integrity is on the official COP agenda – a long-awaited step, according to UNESCO’s Guilherme Canela.

Speaking to UN News, Mr. Canela stressed that the global initiative aims to expose the mechanisms behind climate disinformation.

“We still know very little about what is behind all this. For example, who funds these publications and why do they spread faster than other types of content? How does this happen? If we do not understand these mechanisms, it is very difficult to design effective strategies to combat this phenomenon. The heart of this global initiative is precisely to finance, especially in the Global South, investigative journalism and research projects to find out what is really happening,” he said.

The Global Climate Change Information Integrity Fund, established under this initiative, has already attracted 447 proposals from nearly 100 countries. Backed by an initial million dollars from Brazil, the fund is supporting its first round of projects – almost two-thirds of which come from developing countries.

Mr Canela called it “very gratifying” to see this issue “so strongly adopted at COP30”.

The Changing Tactics of Disinformation

Maria Clara Moraes, UN-verified champion and co-founder of the Marias Verdes platform, knows the battle well. With more than half a million followers on TikTok, she says combating climate misinformation is “entirely possible, but also extremely difficult.”

She warns that these campaigns are highly organized and “backed by powerful forces, particularly the fossil fuel industry.” Their stories, she says, “change disguise” over time.

“There are several types of disinformation. One of the most powerful is saying that it’s too late, that nothing can be done or that events like COP30 make no difference. That’s also disinformation. Saying, ‘It’s not working, it’s too slow, too complex, too frustrating’. But yes, it’s important. We need to constantly reaffirm the value of multilateralism and the importance of spaces like this,” she said.

A generation that refuses to give up

Despite the challenges, Ms. Moraes told us she sees hope in younger generations. By producing content rooted in science and sustainability, she says awareness of the climate emergency is rapidly increasing.

According to her, young people are “a great source of hope and optimism”. She urges everyone to play their part in creating “micro-revolutions” through everyday choices that support climate action and lead to systemic change.

UN News East report from Belémgiving you front row coverage of everything happening at COP30.