The UN’s top aid official, Tom Fletcher, said that more than 300 million people urgently need assistance.

But funding has been falling annually, and this year’s levels are projected to drop to a record low.

“Brutal funding cuts don’t mean that humanitarian needs disappear; today’s emergency fund allocation channels resources swiftly to where they’re needed most,” he said.

One third of the CERF money will support Sudan and neighbouring Chad, which is home to many uprooted Sudanese.

The funds will also bolster the aid response in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Honduras, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia, Venezuela and Zambia.

Part of the allocation will go towards life-saving initiatives to protect vulnerable people from climate shocks, too.

Funding cuts impact aid for millions: UNICEF

Funding cuts to overseas aid levels in multiple countries are severely limiting the UN Children Fund’s ability to reach millions of children in dire need, the agency’s Executive Director said on Thursday.

UNICEF chief Catherine Russell highlighted cuts “by numerous donor countries follow two years of aid reductions at a time of unprecedented need.  Millions of children are affected by conflict, need to be vaccinated against deadly diseases such as measles and polio, and must be educated and kept healthy.”

She added that needs are outpacing resources and despite introducing efficiencies and innovation to their work, UNICEF teams have stretched every contribution to its limit.

“But there is no way around it, these new cuts are creating a global funding crisis that will put the lives of millions of additional children at risk.”

Funded entirely by voluntary contributions, the UN children’s agency has helped save millions, making “historic progress”.

Since 2000, global under-fives mortality has dropped by 50 per cent: “UNICEF implores all donors to continue to fund critical aid programs for the world’s children. We cannot fail them now,” Ms. Russell underlined.

Afghanistan: Lives and livelihoods on the line

Offering one snapshot of how cuts and shortfalls in aid are impacting one of the world’s most vulnerable nations, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric highlighted conditions in Afghanistan.

“Our humanitarian colleagues warn that Afghanistan continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis defined by decades of conflict, entrenched poverty, climate-induced shocks and rising protection risks, especially for women and girls,” he told reporters at the regular daily briefing in New York.  

More than half of the population – or 23 million people – need humanitarian assistance in the country, which has been run by the Taliban since they seized power from the democratically elected Government in August 2021.

Nearly 3.5 million children under five and more than a million pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to become acutely malnourished, while explosive hazards continue to pose a lethal threat following decades of brutal civil conflict.

An estimated 55 people are killed or injured by ordnance every month – most of them are children.

Cuts already taking a toll

“Funding cuts are already significantly constraining the humanitarian community’s efforts to provide assistance to those most in need,” Mr Dujarric said.

In the past month, more than 200 health facilities have closed, depriving 1.8 million people from essential health services.

Malnutrition services for children have also been impacted.

“Our humanitarian partners warn that aid funding cuts will cost both lives and livelihoods – and undermine development gains,” said the UN Spokesperson.  

UN agencies and partners on the ground are urgently reprioritising programmes to ensure communities and areas most in need can be reached. 

The agency said that despite the huge influx of humanitarian goods into Gaza during phase one of the ceasefire which began on 19 January, it has not been enough to make up for the 15 months of war when supply convoys were frequently blocked, impeded or cancelled by the Israeli military.

Speaking from Gaza, UNICEF’s Rosalia Bollen said that being unable to bring humanitarian relief into the enclave including vaccines and ventilators for pre-term babies “will have devastating real-life consequences” for children and their parents.

“If we’re unable to bring that in, routine vaccination will come to a standstill”, she told UN News. “Neonatal units won’t be able to care for preterm babies, so this is a real-life consequence that we’ll be dealing with very, very soon if we’re unable to resume the aid supplies coming in.”

The UNICEF Communication Specialist said that existing aid supplies have already been largely distributed throughout Gaza.

“The needs are so high that we haven’t been able to stockpile goods…that’s why these latest restrictions are so devastating,” she said, adding that the first phase of the ceasefire wasn’t just a pause in hostilities…it really was a lifeline for families here…The mood here is very depressed; families that I speak with are deeply worried about what the future is going to hold.”

Nutrition gains reversed

The aid blockade comes as the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reported a slight improvement in dietary diversity during the ceasefire which humanitarians says “is now being reversed” by the aid blockade.

Before the current conflict, acute malnutrition in Gaza was almost non-existent, but today more than 3,000 children and 1,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women have been referred for acute malnutrition treatment.

In a more positive development, OCHA noted that February showed a slight improvement in the number of children and pregnant and breastfeeding women consuming the minimum required food groups.

Citing assessments by nutrition partners, the UN aid office added that about eight per cent of children consumed four or more food groups and there was “a noticeable increase in the consumption of fruits, vegetables, eggs and dairy products”, indicating increased availability at local markets.

The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel had allowed aid organisations such as UNICEF to scale up urgently needed supplies for children and their parents in Gaza. These items included vaccines for routine immunisation, disposable medical supplies for hospitals, along with syringes, gauze and specialised equipment such as incubators, and ventilators to help pre-term babies breathe.

Other fundamental repairs had also been started to rehabilitate smashed public infrastructure, too.

“We had just managed to start increasing water production, especially in the north, ” said Ms. UNICEF’s Ms. Bollen. “We’ve been repairing water wells, we’ve been increasing distribution possibilities. All of that will be coming to a standstill.”

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at the regular daily briefing in New York that the leaders of both the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities would join UN chief António Guterres along with guarantors Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom, at the UN in Geneva.

The Mediterranean island was divided between north and south in 1974 after years of hostilities. The UN has led negotiations towards a settlement, with the Security Council authorising a peacekeeping force in 1964, UNFICYP.

In the absence of a lasting agreement, the force remains on the island to supervise ceasefire lines, a buffer zone and to support humanitarian activities.

Previous talks

Mr. Guterres attempted to bring the two sides together in 2017 at the Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-Montana but talks ultimately broke down. A further push was made in 2021.

The meeting later this month will take place “in the context of the Secretary-General’s good offices’ efforts on the Cyprus issue,” in in line with his commitment to continue efforts made last October. 

“The informal meeting will provide an opportunity for a meaningful discussion on the way forward on the Cyprus issue,” Mr Dujarric said.

“The United Nations remains committed to supporting the Cypriot leaders and all Cypriots.”

Lebanon: Fighting continues in peacekeepers’ area of operations

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported more gunfire in their area of operations on Wednesday, as well as sporadic military activity by Israeli forces, the UN Spokesperson said on Wednesday.

As of now, the Lebanese army have deployed to more than 100 locations in southern Lebanon – between the Litani River and the ‘Blue Line’ of separation between the two countries – with the support of UN peacekeepers.

Unexploded ordnance

The latest conflict has left south Lebanon, especially areas close to the Blue Line, heavily littered with unexploded ordnances, “posing very serious risks to civilians”.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) deminers continue to assist Lebanese authorities in finding and destroying these explosive remnants. 

“Our peacekeepers have continued to discover caches of unauthorised weapons and ammunitions, including yesterday, a number of them in our Sector West, and all of them were duly reported to the Lebanese Armed Forces,” Mr. Dujarric explained.

Between 21 October 2024 and 26 February, 44 unexploded ordnances and six improvised explosive devices were discovered and destroyed.

Humanitarian work continues

At the same time, UNIFIL continues to facilitate humanitarian missions in their areas of operation, with over 60 missions having taken place since the cessation of hostilities, facilitating the return of displaced people.

Separately, the mission reports that 31 arrests have been made in connection with the attack on 14 February on a convoy near the Beirut airport. 

Mr. Dujarric emphasised the importance that “those responsible for that attack are brought to justice”, with the attack targeting the then Deputy Force Commander of UNIFIL and a number of his companions.

IOM expands humanitarian hub in Chad to aid 220,000 amid Sudan crisis

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP) have completed the expansion of a key aid hub in Chad, in a move that will enable aid teams to reach up to 220,000 more in need.

The expanded operational capacity at the hub in Farchana will strengthen cross-border interagency humanitarian operations for Sudan – the world’s worst displacement crisis. 

Since April 2023, more than 11.5 million people have been displaced within Sudan and an additional 3.5 million have fled across borders, including an estimated 930,000 who have crossed from Sudan into Chad.

Nine million in need across Darfur

According to recent figures, nearly nine million people in the Darfur region alone require immediate assistance.

“With the strengthened cross-border operations, IOM has already reached over 82,000 people in Darfur with critical humanitarian aid, and with the expansion of the Farchana hub, we are poised to provide life-saving assistance to an additional 220,000 people in the coming months,” explained Pascal Reyntjens, IOM Chief of Mission in Chad.

“The hub also enables greater collaboration between humanitarian actors, development agencies and the government, which is essential for a comprehensive and sustainable response,” he continued.

The expansion includes office space, living quarters and other infrastructure that will help improve the effectiveness of aid work in hard-to-reach field locations in Sudan.

These enhancements will also enable international and national NGOs and UN agencies to further scale up cross-border operations from Chad into Darfur, where humanitarian needs are rapidly escalating.