Haiti, Cuba and Jamaica all suffered significant damage and loss of life following Hurricane Melissa.

Speaking from the Jamaican capital, Kingston, the representative of the World Food Program (PAM)Alexis Masciarelli said UN News that “our priority at the moment is to reach the most isolated communities”.

WFP has now launched emergency food distributions for the hardest-hit families, and additional relief supplies are expected to arrive in the coming days, the agency reported.

St. Elizabeth Parish – long considered the breadbasket of the country – has been particularly hard hit, with homes, farms and livelihoods destroyed, and many communities still cut off and without electricity.

Food transported by plane

So far, 1,500 people have received food kits containing rice, lentils, canned fish and meat, and vegetable oil, while an additional 2,000 kits have been flown from Barbados to support ongoing relief efforts.

WFP plans to help up to 200,000 people in Jamaica to meet urgent food needs.

In CubaHurricane Melissa caused widespread flooding, power outages and significant damage.

Food distributions have already reached 181,000 people evacuated to shelters, and WFP aims to assist a total of 900,000 people.

In Haitihomes and infrastructure along the southern coast – the hardest hit area – were washed away.

Emergency food distributions reached 12,700 people in the Grand Sud region. WFP plans to help 190,000 people, providing a two-week food ration followed by a month of cash assistance to support recovery.

The challenges ahead

Mr. Masciarelli stressed that the main challenge ahead will be to reach people “in the last mile, that is, those who most need help in areas that remain inaccessible.”

In addition, he highlighted the continued breakdown in communications, with many areas still isolated after the hurricane, making it difficult to assess the needs of the population and monitor the situation on a day-to-day basis.

Reiterating WFP’s commitment to meeting the food needs of the population and supporting relief efforts, the WFP spokesperson acknowledged that the recovery period would most likely be a “very long marathon recovery period.”

On Wednesday, WFP launched an urgent appeal for $74 million to provide lifesaving assistance to 1.1 million people in the Caribbean.

The UN food agency continues to work with governments and partners to ensure the delivery of supplies and emergency assistance to communities in need.

One in two households surveyed reported better access thanks to increased commercial and humanitarian deliveries.

OCHA however, warned that no food aid convoys had reached the north via direct crossings since September 12.

Despite the dire conditions persisting in northern Gaza, the UN agency said that around 90 percent of the estimated 29,000 people who moved within the Gaza Strip this weekend were traveling from the south to the north.

Trucks and supplies

The UN and its partners collected nearly 200 truckloads of essential supplies from Israeli crossing points along the perimeter fence surrounding Gaza on Saturday.

Among the supplies were almost 1,900 tonnes of different food products, wheat flour and more than 100 pallets of food boxes.

Supplies also included more than 1,000 pallets of mattresses, blankets, tents, tarps and winter clothing; 300 pallets filled with hygiene kits, buckets, water cans and jerry cans; 50 pallets of enriched cereals; and some 200 pallets of dignity kits, menstrual health kits and midwifery supplies.

On Sunday – based on initial data – UN teams collected nearly 1,000 pallets of blankets, tents, hygiene kits, water tanks, mats, winter clothing, tarpaulins and jerry cans, as well as a truckload of animal fodder.

“All this data is preliminary and covers the UN and our partners but does not include bilateral donations and the commercial sector,” UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York on Monday.

Meals and nutrition

The UN and its partners support 17 bakeries in Gaza – nine in the south and eight in the north – which produce 150,000 packets of bread every day, according to the latest figures.

“We also support 180 kitchens serving nearly 1,160,000 meals every day,” Mr. Haq continued. “On the nutrition front, we are currently supporting 133 treatment sites, including 20 in Gaza City, where famine was confirmed in August. »

On Saturday and Sunday, teams also delivered 1,000 tarpaulins and 2,500 blankets to people in need.

Since the ceasefire, the United Nations reproductive health agency, UNFPAhas helped around 90,000 women and girls by providing them with reproductive health and hygiene items.

Incubators

This includes the distribution of medical equipment and supplies to 13 health facilities across the Gaza Strip, including incubators and surgical equipment, Haq said.

UNFPA has also distributed thousands of postpartum kits and dignity kits to women and girls.

Meanwhile, renovation is underway at four schools and, over the past three days, the UN and partners have supported the reopening of five temporary learning spaces in Gaza City.

The discovery arrives in the last Status of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) Report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), broadcast Monday in Rome.

“The report delivers a clear message: Land degradation is not just an environmental problem: it impacts agricultural productivity, rural livelihoods and food security“, declared the United Nations agency.

Human activity causes degradation

Land is at the heart of agri-food systems, supporting more than 95 percent of food production in addition to providing essential ecosystem services that support life on the planet.

Land degradation usually results from a combination of factors, FAO explained, including natural factors such as soil erosion and salinization.

However, human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing and unsustainable irrigation practices are now among the main contributors.

Measuring the impact

To measure degradation, the report compared current values ​​of three key indicators – soil organic carbon, soil erosion and soil water – with conditions that would exist without human activity under native or natural conditions.

The data was processed through a machine learning model that integrates environmental and socio-economic drivers of change to estimate the baseline state of land in the absence of human activity.

The report estimates that around 1.7 billion people worldwide live in areas where agricultural yields are 10 percent lower due to human-caused land degradation. Among them, 47 million children under the age of five suffer from stunted growth.

“In absolute numbers, Asian countries are the most affected – both because of their accumulated debt degradation and their high population density.“, said the FAO.

Millions of people could benefit

The report presents concrete opportunities for integrated sustainable land use and management practices, as well as adapted policies.

Reversing just 10 percent of human-induced degradation on existing croplands through crop rotation or other sustainable land management practices could produce enough to feed an additional 154 million people per year.

“To seize these opportunities, we must act decisively. Sustainable land management requires enabling environments that support investment, innovation and long-term management,” wrote FAO Director-General Dongyu Qu in the report’s foreword.

Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announcement that the UN agency’s first responders were already “on the ground” supporting care of the injured.

The United Nations World Food Program (PAM) also highlighted its support for affected communities and the emergency response as the needs assessment began.

Reports say the earthquake struck near the town of Mazar-i-Sharif around 1 a.m. local time, causing buildings to collapse on those sleeping inside.

Images posted on social media from the city’s Hazrat Ali shrine – also known as the Blue Mosque – showed people walking around rubble on the ground at the site revered by Shiite Muslims.

Although people were killed in the hardest-hit mountainous province of Samangan, initial aerial assessments indicated fewer signs of damage than initially feared.

The UN flyover, carried out with the help of Swiss authorities, also showed no signs of the mass displacement that might have been expected if the earthquake had been more destructive.

“We covered the main populated areas where the greatest number of homes are located in the area affected by the earthquake.

“Thankfully, we have seen very little widespread devastation…compared to the devastating scenes we saw in Kunar just a few weeks ago. » said Richard Trenchard, acting UN humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan.

Still in shock from the Kunar earthquake

This new crisis follows a 6.0 magnitude earthquake on August 31, which destroyed thousands of homes and vital infrastructure in Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan. The disaster uprooted hundreds of thousands of people and left half a million in need of urgent medical assistance.

“What began as an acute emergency has now transformed into a displacement crisis, where families are enduring prolonged stays in temporary camps amid growing health risks. » WHO said.

In addition to the lack of access to clean water for displaced families, the UN agency warned of widespread open defecation and limited access to health services for women in particular, due to “the absence of female staff and lack of privacy.”

Maternal and newborn health needs remain crucial for those affected by the August earthquake, amid sharp cuts in funding for humanitarian work, WHO noted, in addition to immunization, noncommunicable disease case management and mental health and psychosocial support.

On the ground in Afghanistan, UN agencies and partners say collaboration and local leadership will be crucial to boosting the recovery response.

Efforts are underway to preposition supplies, mobilize surveillance teams to prevent outbreaks, and prepare damaged hospitals to resume operations.