(Humanitarian Aid-Gaza) Every week in Gaza, at least 15 women give birth outside any health facility, often without a trained midwife, pain relief or basic medical supplies. Some are forced to deliver alone. Others rely on neighbours with no medical training. For many, childbirth has become a matter of survival. Before the fragile ceasefire got underway in October, the UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA, estimated that 55,000 pregnant women were trapped in “a spiral of displacement, bombardment and acute hunger”, with no reliable access to care. – UN support helps Gaza mothers give birth amid collapsing health system | UN News
(Human Rights-Sudan) As the world prepares to mark Human Rights Day on 10 December, the UN is warning that war-torn Sudan is in the midst of arguably the gravest human rights crisis of our time. Fighting erupted between rival militaries in April 2023 following a breakdown in the transition to civilian rule, following the overthrow of longtime former President Omar al-Bashir four years earlier. The army of Sudan’s military government has been battling the formerly allied fighters of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia for control of the vast country, where more than 12 million people have been uprooted. Millions have fled across the border in what is the world’s largest displacement crisis. In an in-depth interview with UN News, the UN human rights office’s (OHCHR) top official in Sudan, Li Fung, outlines the scale of violations unfolding, the urgent need for accountability, and why the courage of Sudanese communities remains a vital source of hope. – Amid Sudan’s unimaginable crisis, its people endure with hope | UN News
(Human Rights-Sudan) UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Thursday warned that Sudan risks “another El Fasher” as fierce fighting spreads across the Kordofan region, raising fears of a fresh wave of atrocities. The once allied Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in brutal conflict since April 2023, with the battlefront now shifting to the oil-rich region’s three states. It comes after RSF fighters seized El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, last month following a year-long siege marked by widespread killings, sexual violence, torture and other atrocities. – Sudan: Kordofan cannot become ‘another El Fasher,’ Türk warns | UN News
(Climate and Environment-Asia) From Sri Lanka’s central highlands to Indonesia’s flood-swollen river basins, a wave of climate-fuelled cyclones and monsoon rains has unleashed one of the deadliest weather patterns south and southeast Asia has seen in years, killing more than 1,600 people, displacing hundreds of thousands and affecting millions. – Deadly storms sweep South and Southeast Asia, leaving over 1,600 dead | UN News
(Climate and Environment-Arab Region) The Arab region is heating at nearly twice the global average, UN weather experts warned on Thursday, after 2024 saw unprecedented heat, destructive storms and worsening water scarcity impact some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) first State of the Climate in the Arab Region report paints a stark picture of a region under constant pressure from rising temperatures and increasingly extreme weather. The UN agency noted that “a number of countries [in the Arab region] reported temperatures of above 50°C (122°F) last year, while average regional temperatures for 2024 were 1.08°C higher than from 1991 to 2020. – Arab region pushed to limits by climate extremes as 2024 smashes heat records | UN News
(Health-Malaria) The authoritative World Health Organization (WHO) World Malaria Report, published on Thursday, shows that resistance to antimalarial drugs now poses one of the most acute risks to control efforts across Africa and beyond. The parasitic mosquito-borne disease is both preventable and curable but it remains a serious and deadly global health threat – claiming hundreds of thousands of lives – mostly among young children and pregnant women, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa. The WHO’s latest annual update shows impressive progress since 2000: intervention has saved an estimated 14 million lives worldwide over the last quarter of a century, and 47 countries are certified malaria-free. Nevertheless, malaria remains a deadly concern. There were more than 280 million malaria cases and over 600,000 malaria deaths in 2024, with 95 per cent of cases concentrated in the Africa region – most in just 11 countries. – Malaria: Drug resistance and underfunding threaten progress towards eliminating killer disease | UN News
(Economic Development) A major UN meeting in Doha wrapped up on Thursday with a renewed drive to help the world’s poorest countries move towards long-term stability and prosperity, as senior officials urged stronger global partnerships to ensure that development gains are not lost once States exit the Least Developed Country (LDC) category. Over three days, ministers, development partners and international agencies met to explore how LDCs can “graduate” successfully – meaning they have reached levels of income, education and resilience that lift them out of the UN’s most vulnerable grouping – and, crucially, stay out. The meeting focused on the Doha Programme of Action (DPOA), which aims to help 15 more countries reach graduation by 2031. – UN and partners back new measures to help millions move from vulnerability to opportunity | UN News
