Humanitarian action saves lives by OCHA, WHO, UNAIDS, agencies   Aug. 2026   The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is battling the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, with United Nations officials warning that hunger is actively undermining efforts to contain the spread.   “Ebola feeds on delay, fear and hunger,” said Carl Skau, acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP). “Stopping this outbreak requires all hands on deck and communities at the centre.”   Declared in eastern DRC on 15 May, the Ebola outbreak is the fastest growing on record. Full-blown Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus is marked by severe bleeding and a fatality rate of around 40 per cent.   This is the largest Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus to date, according to the latest update from the World Health Organization (WHO). 48 health zones across five provinces in eastern DRC are affected: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo and Haut-Uele.   Ituri, the outbreak’s epicentre, remains one of the country’s most severe hunger hotspots, with 1.9 million people facing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse.   More than 2.65 million people in the 48 Ebola-affected health zones face acute food insecurity, including more than 628,000 people in emergency conditions, according to the UN-backed global monitor Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).   The UN World Food Programme (WFP) issued a stark warning that food assistance and logistics are critical to containing the outbreak.   “Food assistance is frontline Ebola containment,” Mr. Skau said. “It helps families stay home, supports safe isolation, builds trust with communities and keeps health teams moving. We know what works. What we need now is the speed and resources to scale it before this outbreak outruns the response.”   Such efforts also help reduce movement of people in search of food, supports safe isolation, lowers the risk of harmful coping strategies and creates the social conditions for health actors to operate safely and effectively, the agency said.   Speed and resources are among the main challenges, and every delay gives Ebola more room to spread, while gaps in logistics, food assistance and community support risk weakening containment efforts, according to WFP.   At the same time, insecurity, access constraints, community unrest and limited operational capacity in newly affected areas continue to complicate surveillance, supply movements and response scale up.   The DRC has now recorded 3,442 cases of the virus and 1,521 deaths, a government update said on Thursday. The data marks a 50 percent increase in the death toll over the past week, with authorities continuing to struggle to rein in the outbreak in the east of the country.   The fact the epidemic is unfolding in an area of active hostilities between armed groups, producing a shortage of public health resources, has helped to allow the virus to spread.   The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) added that delays in contact tracing, difficulties accessing affected areas, and mistrust from communities have hindered an effective response.   Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said 63 percent of confirmed deaths in the last two weeks occurred outside treatment centres.   Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme says the outbreak in the DRC is reaching unprecedented levels. “Over the last few days, we’ve seen some of the highest numbers of new infections in a single day.”   Julien Harneis, the UN’s Senior Ebola Coordinator, said a critical driver for Ebola transmission is the fact that people are dying in their communities rather than in the care of a hospital or treatment center.   Funding to tackle the interconnected hunger and Ebola crisis remains critically underfunded. Mr. Harneis and Mr. Skau called for further action and to “scale up the Ebola response, three, four, five times of what we are doing now.”   http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/07/1168047 http://news.un.org/en/tags/ebola-virus-disease http://www.wfp.org/news/ebola-accelerates-eastern-drc-wfp-warns-food-assistance-and-logistics-are-critical-containing http://www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/dual-crises-in-eastern-drc-as-ebola-surges-and-hunger-deepens/ http://www.msf.org/ebola-response-needs-urgent-scale-after-two-months http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/dr-congo-ebola-child-deaths-pass-300-unicef-warns-outbreak-also-threatens-essential http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/dr-congo-ebola-outbreak-a-crisis-within-a-neglected-crisis http://www.unicef.org/emergencies/ebola-emergency http://reliefweb.int/disaster/ep-2026-000071-cod http://www.who.int/emergencies/situations/ebola-outbreak---drc-2026 http://www.who.int/news/item/06-08-2026-africa-cdc-and-who-call-for-urgent--community-led-action-to-contain-ebola-in-the-drc   27 July 2026   Humanitarian action saves lives. (OCHA)   Democratic Republic of the Congo: Widening Ebola outbreak puts pressure on response   OCHA reports that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to expand, with rising numbers of cases and deaths putting ever more pressure on health services and humanitarians’ efforts to respond.   As of 25 July, national health authorities had reported 3,200 confirmed Ebola cases across Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo provinces. More than 100 new confirmed cases have been reported for the second consecutive day.   The UN and its partners continue to support the authorities on surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing and patient care. The World Food Programme has provided more than 140,000 hot meals and food to over 23,000 patients, contacts and vulnerable people affected by the outbreak in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.   UNICEF and partners have also carried out more than 27,000 household visits to support the identification and follow-up of suspected cases in affected communities.   Meanwhile, preparedness efforts are under way beyond the provinces affected by Ebola. Today, the World Health Organization launched training for hygiene specialists at the General Reference Hospital in the province of Bas-Uele to reduce the risk of further spread.   Continued international support is critical to expanding treatment capacity, sustaining response operations, and containing the outbreak.   Occupied Palestinian Territory   Rising violence, restrictions across the West Bank endanger civilians   OCHA is deeply alarmed by the escalation of violence across the West Bank in recent days. Since Thursday, at least eight Palestinians – including one child – as well as two Israelis have been killed. Many others have been injured. Homes, mosques, agriculture structures have been set on fire or otherwise vandalized and, in some cases, destroyed. Palestinian families have been displaced in the course of the latest violence.   In parallel, Israeli forces have tightened their restrictions on Palestinian movements and access across many areas of the West Bank, preventing thousands of people from reaching essential services, such as emergency medical care, and the sources of their livelihoods.   Since the beginning of this year, OCHA has documented more than 1,330 incidents involving Israeli settlers that resulted in casualties, property damage or both. As of Saturday, 77 Palestinians – including 18 children – have been killed by Israeli forces or Israeli settlers in 2026. During the same period, three Israelis have been killed by Palestinians.   The humanitarian community continues to call for the urgent protection of civilians and strict respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Perpetrators must be held to account.   Sudan   Needs deepen as conflict, cholera spread   OCHA warns that ongoing conflict, displacement and disease outbreaks continue to drive humanitarian needs across Sudan.   In North Kordofan State, local sources report that 15 civilians were killed and seven others injured on Friday in an attack south of El Obeid.   Meanwhile, across the Darfur region, partners on the ground report that insecurity and intercommunal violence have recently displaced more than 20,000 people, with many in urgent need of support.   OCHA once again calls on all parties to protect civilians, and to facilitate rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access.   Cholera is also spreading in Sudan, with more than 2,000 suspected cases and 170 reported deaths since May – mainly in the Kordofan region.   Despite the challenges, humanitarian organizations are delivering life-saving assistance wherever and whenever possible. The UN and its humanitarian partners continue scaling up the cholera response, supporting nearly 80 surveillance sites, 16 treatment centres, eight oral rehydration points, and prevention activities for more than 270,000 people in the affected areas.   However, funding shortfalls are limiting the response.* OCHA continues to urge donors to commit additional funding. This year’s humanitarian appeal for Sudan is about 40 per cent funded, with US$1.1 billion received against the nearly $2.9 billion required.   Ukraine   Acting UN deputy relief chief warns that ongoing attacks imperil civilians   Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Indrika Ratwatte, told the UN Security Council this morning that civilians in Ukraine continue to be killed and injured as homes, energy and water systems, UN warehouses and humanitarian facilities come under attack.   He also expressed concern over reports of civilian harm in the Russian Federation, including reported attacks on logistics centres in the Moscow and Tambov regions that have claimed civilian lives, while noting that the UN cannot independently verify these reports.   Ratwatte said that communities in Ukraine are in a fourth summer under continued hostilities, with many already fearful of the winter ahead and humanitarian organizations adapting daily to reach people safely.   He underscored that practical humanitarian arrangements can save lives by enabling safe and voluntary evacuations and allowing life-saving aid to reach civilians in need.   Ratwatte reminded parties that their obligations under international humanitarian law remain “unchanged and unequivocal,” including the duty to protect civilians and humanitarians, spare civilian infrastructure, and allow relief to reach those in need.   “International law is not optional,” he stressed, adding that humanitarian determination “should not be confused with acceptance” of conditions that continue to endanger civilians.   http://www.unocha.org/news/todays-top-news-occupied-palestinian-territory-sudan-democratic-republic-congo-rwanda-ukraine http://www.unocha.org/latest/news-and-stories   27 July 2026 (UN News)   The AIDS epidemic could stage a comeback amid unequal access to breakthrough prevention medicines and a sharp decline in global funding, according to a UN report released on Monday ahead of the opening of the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.   1.2 million people acquired HIV and 570,000 died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2025. 22 per cent of people living with HIV are still not receiving treatment. International HIV funding fell 18 per cent, the steepest decline in nearly 20 years.   New medicines such as lenacapavir are nearly 100 per cent effective at preventing HIV infection. 20 million people need access to antiretroviral-based prevention to make a meaningful impact on the epidemic. Generic versions of lenacapavir could cost as little as $40 per person per year, but they will remain unavailable in many countries.   By the end of this decade, more than three million people could become infected with HIV, yet the tools to stop this crisis already exist, from groundbreaking prevention medicines to community-led interventions with a proven track record. What is missing is sustained financing.   This growing funding gap is already forcing countries to cut essential services and close community organizations, according to UNAIDS, the agency working to end the epidemic by 2030. Unless urgent action is taken, the agency warns, the world is on course for a resurgence of the epidemic.   With a new generation of medicines now offering protection against HIV comparable to that of a vaccine. There is a growing concern that these breakthroughs will remain out of reach for millions because they are priced too high and controlled by pharmaceutical patent holders.   The true measure of success is not whether medicines exist, but whether the people who need them can actually obtain them and at an affordable price, said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima. “Innovation without access is not innovation; it is injustice,” she said.   UNAIDS estimates that 20 million people need access to antiretroviral-based prevention if the world is to reduce new HIV infections.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/07/1168033 http://www.unaids.org/en http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jul/21/trumps-hiv-funding-cuts-having-severe-and-devastating-impact-around-the-world   June 2026   A ‘perilous moment’ for the response to HIV warns UNAIDS   A new report released by UNAIDS shows that external funding cuts, a strong push back on human rights and under investment and under prioritization of HIV prevention and community services are threatening to reverse years of gains in the AIDS response.   “There's no question that this is the most serious disruption in the HIV response since the world came together to fight this disease,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “The funding cuts, combined with the reduction in civic space and the further criminalization of marginalized populations have come together to create the biggest storm the HIV response has ever seen.”   Dramatic cuts in aid that highly burdened, low-income countries depend on for their HIV response have had a devastating impact. Global development assistance from multiple countries fell by 23% in 2025—the sharpest drop on record—and HIV programmes have been hit hard.   HIV testing programmes fell by 22% in high-burden settings between 2024 and 2025. Meaning people are unable to access treatment and the virus continuing to spread. Funding for condoms has been cut by more than 90% in some cases. PrEP (daily medicine to prevent HIV) uptake dropped sharply falling by 38% between 2024 and 2025 in 62 countries reporting to UNAIDS.   HIV prevention is being dismantled at the very moment the world needs to take it to scale, especially with new, revolutionary, long-acting prevention innovations coming to market.   Prevention was already underfunded at just 11% of total HIV spending in 2024—and that limited investment is now shrinking further with no signs that domestic funding will fill the gap.   The HIV response has been the most successful story in global health over the last 25 years, AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 56% from 1.3 million in 2010 to 570 000 in 2025. New infections have been reduced by 43% since 2010 to 1.2 million, and 78% of the 40.9 million people living with HIV are now on treatment (32.1 million).   But this success is fragile—nearly 9 million people are not on treatment. At a time when external funding is reducing, treatment gains are extremely fragile. Western and central Africa, for example, is around 90% dependent on external funding for its HIV treatment programmes. Without sustained external financing and increased domestic resources, there is a serious risk of treatment interruptions—which will mean rising deaths and rising new infections.   Progress remains highly uneven—some regions are improving, while others are seeing rising infections (eastern Europe and central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa and Latin America have seen rising new HIV infections since 2010). And every week, 3000 adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa acquire HIV—this is one of the clearest signs the world is failing to reach some of the most vulnerable populations.   A recent community-led study of 79 community-led organizations across 47 countries and three continents (Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa) showed a 50% drop in community support services for people living with HIV..   http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2026/june/20260612_PR_global_aids_brief http://www.iasociety.org/blog/aids-2026-key-takeaways http://www.iasociety.org/news-events http://www.hhrjournal.org/2026/08/01/the-anti-rights-movement-is-organised-are-we/ Visit the related web page
	Tens of thousands of people missing as twin earthquakes devastate Venezuela by OCHA, news agencies   10 Aug. 2026   Magnitude 7.4 quake rocks western Colombia. (Agencies)   A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, leaving at least 254 people dead and 2,595 injured, with at least 2,700 people reported missing. The earthquake damaged over 1,600 buildings, leaving people trapped under debris while their loved ones and rescue workers searched through the rubble.   Search teams and civilians are picking through the remains of destroyed buildings in the country’s third-largest city, Cali. The desperate scenes recalled the searches still ongoing in neighboring Venezuela weeks after that country was devastated by two powerful earthquakes.   Besides Cali, the quake ravaged cities across western Colombia, including Pereira, Quibdo and Manizales, and was felt in neighboring Ecuador and Panama.   The United Nations humanitarian agency said essential services and infrastructure in Colombia have been severely damaged. The agency said the earthquake had affected and disrupted educational and health institutions, hospitals, water and electricity services, strategic roads and airports.   The Government has activated its emergency response mechanisms and continues to assess damage and needs in affected areas.   Authorities are continuing search and rescue operations as the death toll rises. Initial reports indicate that homes and other structures have collapsed in several towns, with people trapped beneath the debris.   Several UN agencies have expressed solidarity with affected communities and said they are ready to assist, pending a Government request..   http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/08/1168106   8 July 2026   Tens of thousands of people missing as twin earthquakes devastate Venezuela   UN relief chief urges scaled-up support for Venezuela’s earthquake recovery. (OCHA)   "Two weeks on: I think it's fair to say – and I was in La Guaira yesterday evening, one of the epicenters of this double earthquake – people are in shock and despair.   There is a moment on these rescue sites, and these are very noisy sites, as you can imagine, you have the noise of the diggers, the heavy machinery, the different teams trying to retrieve people from the rubble, and I was standing with groups of mothers who go to the site there every day in the hope of finding any evidence of their children.   And there are moments on the site when one of the recovery team members will raise their hand, and everything falls silent. The machines fall silent, and this is because they have heard, or they hope they have heard, the tiniest noise from beneath the rubble, and everyone stops in the hope that this is a sign of life.   And to stand with those mothers and fathers at that moment as they hope against all hope that this is maybe, two weeks later, their child, in a building of 14 stories which is reduced to a few feet in height. And then, after a couple of minutes of silence, the emergency worker raises two arms to signify that they haven't heard a sound, and the digging and the searching continues.   Those mothers asked me last night: Is help coming?   There can only be one answer to that question. It's really important to note that the key responders in this crisis have been local communities, those who went out from the first moment to search for their neighbours and their loved ones, and who are offering support with whatever limited resources they have.   Over 50 urban search-and-rescue teams from over 30 countries have come to assist, UN Agencies and NGO humanitarian organisations are on the ground doing everything they can with the resources available to support those in this time of overwhelming need. The Government is actively engaged as we work together to plan the next phase of the response.   Our team here has produced the rapid needs assessment. This is data collected from across the humanitarian family to make sure that we are working on the most urgent priorities, which right now focus on shelter; on health; on water, sanitation and hygiene; food security; protection; education; and early recovery.   The earthquakes have, of course, compounded existing needs. Almost 8 million people already in need of humanitarian support across Venezuela. And let's be clear, everything we do on the humanitarian side must be time-limited and focused on the transition across to recovery, early recovery, rebuilding, reconstruction, and long-term development.   Based on the assessments that we've made alongside the Government – these are not just UN assessments they are Government assessments with the United Nations team – the multi-sectoral needs of an additional 1.3 million people who face socioeconomic needs over the next 6 months, who require life-saving support, means we need $627 million in funding to address those urgent needs.   My key ask of Member States and donors is please translate the solidarity that we've heard, into this practical support. We're asking you to invest in the essential basic services that provide life-sustaining support - health systems, medical needs, water, sanitation, hygiene, shelter, food assistance, education – as we make this pivot from search-and-rescue through humanitarian and into the vital, vital development response.   We of course will support the efforts to ensure sanctions relief and the release of frozen assets so vital to the response.   International solidarity must not finish as we move through this search-and-rescue response and into this next support phase. We have to show that we will answer the question from those mothers – that help is coming".   http://www.unocha.org/latest/news-and-stories http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/thousands-children-continue-face-multiple-risks-one-month-after-devastating http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/venezuela-one-month-after-the-earthquakes-humanitarian-funding-falls-far-short http://reliefweb.int/report/venezuela-bolivarian-republic/venezuela-earthquake-operation-update-1-mdrve015 http://www.rescue.org/press-release/one-month-after-earthquakes-venezuela-risks-spiraling-deeper-crisis   25 June 2026   Two powerful earthquakes, measuring magnitude-7.5 and 7.2, have struck Venezuela near the capital Caracas.   Venezuela is in a state of emergency, with a major search and rescue operation underway, after the worst earthquakes in more than 100 years hit the country.   Rescuers are searching through rubble in a rush to save lives. In Caracas and the nearby coastal city of La Guaira, people could be heard calling for help from under the debris of collapsed buildings.   Jorge Rodríguez, who heads Venezuela's national assembly, reported over 5,300 people have died, and over 16,700 people were injured, with many buildings damaged or destroyed. (Update: 12 July)   Acting/Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said the death toll was expected to climb as rescue workers began searching in one of the worst-hit areas, La Guaira, a coastal region just north of Caracas.   "Dozens of buildings have collapsed there … and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives," Ms Rodríguez said in a national address.   Aftershocks have continued to ripple through the quake area, with at least 30 recorded after the two earthquakes, Delcy Rodríguez told state-run television channel Venezolana de Television.   The US Geological Survey, using predictive modelling to estimate the death toll, said the death toll could run into the thousands.   Authorities have not provided an official figure for those reported missing, but more than 50,000 people have been reported as missing on a website called Desaparecidos Terremoto Venezuela, translated as people missing in the Venezuela earthquake.   The governmental response is focused on search-and-rescue operations, emergency medical care and damage assessment. The impact has been severe and widespread, affecting critical infrastructure, public services and housing in several states, with the greatest concentration in the Capital District, La Guaira, Miranda, Carabobo and Yaracuy.   Electricity, water, telecommunications and transport networks have been severely disrupted. Hospitals are operating under emergency protocols as they treat large numbers of injured people.   The United Nations is assisting the Government in coordinating the rescue operation with many people believed to be trapped beneath collapsed buildings.   UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher says aid workers were "mobilizing to support the people of Venezuela following the deadly and devastating earthquakes."   He said the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was coordinating the deployment of urban search and rescue teams from various countries offering help.   "The coming days and months will require a massive collective effort to support the Government-led response and help communities."   Tom Fletcher noted how even before Wednesday's quake, 8 million people in Venezuela were in need of humanitarian support, a situation that was now only likely to deteriorate.   The destruction will worsen living conditions for millions of Venezuelans in an "already severe" humanitarian crisis, the charity Oxfam warned.   "It’s an enormous catastrophe," says Stine Paus, Latin America Region Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). "There are huge needs for international support," she says.   "People will need support with shelter which is much needed, water and sanitation, and to make sure infectious diseases are not spreading. There are lots of children in need of support".   Cesar Jimenez, an aid worker for Project Hope, a health and humanitarian NGO that operates health centres in eight Venezuelan states, including in the earthquake-stricken areas of Caracas, Miranda and La Guaira said, “no country could have been prepared for a disaster of this magnitude". "You can’t even count the number of people that are looking for help. All of their buildings have been wrecked, entirely.”   Many residents spent the night in the streets or searching for their families in Catia La Mar in La Guaira state, one of the hardest hit regions of Venezuela. They spoke to news agency AFP.   "Right now we have nothing, not even the strength or the courage to go in there," Larry Rojas, 49, says as he stands in front of a collapsed building where his family are trapped.   "There are people alive in there and no one is coming to save them," a woman says as she awaits news of her daughter who was buried in the rubble of a 12-storey building.   A journalist in Caracas described seeing "desperation" from people on the streets of the capital following the earthquakes. Manu Quintero told BBC News that it felt like "the world was moving for a long time" when the earthquakes struck, adding that the two quakes felt like "one massive long earthquake".   He was speaking from the site of a collapsed 14-storey residential building, which he says contained 27 apartments, adding that rescue teams had so far found two bodies and no survivors.   The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) says among the "most urgent anticipated needs" are search and rescue as well emergency shelter and health care. Safe water and sanitation, alongside essential household items, are expected to be priorities in the days ahead.   UNICEF estimates that 1.8 million people, including 680,000 children, are in need of humanitarian assistance following the earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June.   Preliminary satellite analysis found that nearly a third of buildings in the worst-hit area assessed so far, Catia La Mar in La Guaira state, have been damaged.   “Three days into the response, the scale of need is becoming clearer,” said Manuel Rodriguez Pumarol, UNICEF Representative in Venezuela. “Hospitals are operating beyond capacity, thousands of children don’t have reliable access to safe water, and many schools have been damaged. UNICEF is working with the Government of Venezuela and partners to scale up support for children and families, and continued funding will be critical to sustaining that response in the weeks and months ahead.”   http://reliefweb.int/disaster/eq-2026-000093-ven http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-680000-children-estimated-be-need-humanitarian-assistance-after-venezuela http://interagencystandingcommittee.org/inter-agency-standing-committee/statement-principals-inter-agency-standing-committee-venezuela http://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/news/2026/06/120163/venezuela-quake-key-services-crippled-and-health-workers-missing http://www.wfp.org/stories/wfp-ramps-food-and-other-assistance-venezuela-earthquake-response http://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2026-07-07/over-100-economists-ask-us-to-lift-sanctions-on-venezuela-to-ease-the-impact-of-the-earthquakes.html Visit the related web page
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