Humanity in dire need in Gaza, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Haiti
On 19 August 2003, a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers, including a United Nations special representative of the secretary general for Iraq. Five years later, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19 August as
Since then, this day has become the annual flagship of the
Currently, more than 300 million people globally require humanitarian assistance and protection, and
Halfway through 2025,
We now turn to a few countries recently highlighted by the OCHA where humanitarian workers are doing their utmost best — sometimes under very difficult circumstances — to alleviate the suffering of those affected. The dire situation in these countries underscores the need for ongoing humanitarian efforts.
Gaza
We hear daily from several news platforms about the many people being killed and injured in the Gaza Strip, including people searching for food along UN convoy routes and militarised distribution points. About
No one should risk their lives trying to get their hands on food, and humanitarian workers should have rapid, safe and unfettered access to deliver aid in a dignified manner to people who are deprived of life-sustaining basics.
According to the UN Children's Fund (Unicef), malnutrition among children in Gaza is reaching catastrophic proportions, while mothers are unable to feed their infants because they themselves are hungry. Since October 2023, 98 children have died from severe acute malnutrition, including 37 since 1 July this year.
Water, sanitation and hygiene operations are constantly affected because fuel is in short supply. Hospitals are overburdened. As a result of a serious scarcity of beds, medical supplies and equipment, patients are suffering while lying on the floor or in the streets.
The World Health Organisation recently
Furthermore, UN colleagues report that
According to the OCHA,
Sudan
Intensifying conflict, food insecurity, disease and floods continue to cause damage, suffering and loss among residents in
Cholera is also spreading rapidly across Darfur. In North Darfur, in the Tawila area, about 1,200 cases have been reported since late June this year, including 300 children and 20 deaths. Unicef warns that around 640,000 children under the age of five in this area are at high risk of violence, disease and hunger.
Also in South Darfur, more than 1,100 suspected cases of cholera and 64 related deaths have been reported since May this year, and a shortage of medical supplies, clean water and sanitation services is hampering the humanitarian response.
There is confirmation of landmines in Khartoum State that threaten the safety of people, kill civilians and make access to health services, markets and humanitarian aid very difficult.
Furthermore,
Waste management systems are broken, heightening the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks. Hundreds of schools have been damaged, and many children have been out of school for months.
The Sudan Humanitarian Fund, managed by the OCHA, is providing life-saving assistance to more than 600,000 people. But more funds are needed to assist vulnerable families in Sudan. More than 30 million people — almost two-thirds of the population — need urgent aid and protection this year.
Syria
Since the recent outbreak of violence (a couple of weeks ago),
The effect of the fighting and displacement is placing enormous pressure on the already overstretched healthcare system in As-Sweida and in the neighbouring Dar'a. Mobile medical teams are working hard in Dar'a and maternal health services, trauma care and non-communicable disease management urgently need to be scaled up.
Haiti
In some areas of
Ukraine
In
There are also other countries like Somalia where hundreds of thousands of people are affected by severe drought in its central and northern regions, and Mozambique where a new wave of violence in Cabo Delgado uprooted thousands of people.
Without humanitarian support, the situation would be even worse for people in the countries mentioned above and in others plagued by numerous crises. Undoubtedly, humanitarian workers have helped save countless lives and bring hope where despair reigns.
Tom Fletcher, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator at the OCHA, says that despite serious difficulties in 2024, they reached almost 116 million people worldwide with effective assistance and good response speed.
On World Humanitarian Day, we must say thank you to everyone involved in the global humanitarian movement, including all the committed and loyal donors and those on the front lines of these efforts. This gives immense hope and, of course, much-needed relief to so many whose lives have been shattered by conflict, the climate crisis and the disintegration of systems. Addressing these humanitarian crises is the only way of
Chris Jones is emeritus associate professor in systematic theology and ecclesiology at Stellenbosch University.
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Mail & Guardian
2 days ago
- Mail & Guardian
Humanity in dire need in Gaza, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Haiti
About 400 million children (one in five) live in or are fleeing war. Photo: File On 19 August 2003, a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers, including a United Nations special representative of the secretary general for Iraq. Five years later, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19 August as Since then, this day has become the annual flagship of the Currently, more than 300 million people globally require humanitarian assistance and protection, and Halfway through 2025, We now turn to a few countries recently highlighted by the OCHA where humanitarian workers are doing their utmost best — sometimes under very difficult circumstances — to alleviate the suffering of those affected. The dire situation in these countries underscores the need for ongoing humanitarian efforts. Gaza We hear daily from several news platforms about the many people being killed and injured in the Gaza Strip, including people searching for food along UN convoy routes and militarised distribution points. About No one should risk their lives trying to get their hands on food, and humanitarian workers should have rapid, safe and unfettered access to deliver aid in a dignified manner to people who are deprived of life-sustaining basics. According to the UN Children's Fund (Unicef), malnutrition among children in Gaza is reaching catastrophic proportions, while mothers are unable to feed their infants because they themselves are hungry. Since October 2023, 98 children have died from severe acute malnutrition, including 37 since 1 July this year. Water, sanitation and hygiene operations are constantly affected because fuel is in short supply. Hospitals are overburdened. As a result of a serious scarcity of beds, medical supplies and equipment, patients are suffering while lying on the floor or in the streets. The World Health Organisation recently Furthermore, UN colleagues report that According to the OCHA, Sudan Intensifying conflict, food insecurity, disease and floods continue to cause damage, suffering and loss among residents in Cholera is also spreading rapidly across Darfur. In North Darfur, in the Tawila area, about 1,200 cases have been reported since late June this year, including 300 children and 20 deaths. Unicef warns that around 640,000 children under the age of five in this area are at high risk of violence, disease and hunger. Also in South Darfur, more than 1,100 suspected cases of cholera and 64 related deaths have been reported since May this year, and a shortage of medical supplies, clean water and sanitation services is hampering the humanitarian response. There is confirmation of landmines in Khartoum State that threaten the safety of people, kill civilians and make access to health services, markets and humanitarian aid very difficult. Furthermore, Waste management systems are broken, heightening the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks. Hundreds of schools have been damaged, and many children have been out of school for months. The Sudan Humanitarian Fund, managed by the OCHA, is providing life-saving assistance to more than 600,000 people. But more funds are needed to assist vulnerable families in Sudan. More than 30 million people — almost two-thirds of the population — need urgent aid and protection this year. Syria Since the recent outbreak of violence (a couple of weeks ago), The effect of the fighting and displacement is placing enormous pressure on the already overstretched healthcare system in As-Sweida and in the neighbouring Dar'a. Mobile medical teams are working hard in Dar'a and maternal health services, trauma care and non-communicable disease management urgently need to be scaled up. Haiti In some areas of Ukraine In There are also other countries like Somalia where hundreds of thousands of people are affected by severe drought in its central and northern regions, and Mozambique where a new wave of violence in Cabo Delgado uprooted thousands of people. Without humanitarian support, the situation would be even worse for people in the countries mentioned above and in others plagued by numerous crises. Undoubtedly, humanitarian workers have helped save countless lives and bring hope where despair reigns. Tom Fletcher, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator at the OCHA, says that despite serious difficulties in 2024, they reached almost 116 million people worldwide with effective assistance and good response speed. On World Humanitarian Day, we must say thank you to everyone involved in the global humanitarian movement, including all the committed and loyal donors and those on the front lines of these efforts. This gives immense hope and, of course, much-needed relief to so many whose lives have been shattered by conflict, the climate crisis and the disintegration of systems. Addressing these humanitarian crises is the only way of Chris Jones is emeritus associate professor in systematic theology and ecclesiology at Stellenbosch University.
Mail & Guardian
10-08-2025
- Mail & Guardian
As humanitarian funding declines, investing in preparedness is essential
In times of crisis, and with humanitarian funding in decline, the outlook for women and girls will be devastating. Photo: File In South Sudan, as fighting raged around her, *Kinana knew she was facing enormous obstacles. She sought safety after escaping the horrors of war and was urgently seeking ante-natal care to deliver her baby safely into the world. She eventually found a local clinic, but many other mothers are often less fortunate. Kinana's predicament illustrates the extreme difficulties faced by women, children and youth, who make up the vast majority of crisis-affected populations. In times of crises, access to life-saving sexual and reproductive health services, care, and support — such as equipment that ensures safe births and supporting survivors of violence — is compromised. Sexual violence and risks associated with unintended pregnancies and HIV infection surge, as do maternal and neonatal deaths. Women and children are forced to move, urgent and life-saving care may become unavailable, resources are diverted, and a community's protection system starts breaking down. Losing livelihoods during an emergency, for example, has been shown to increase rates of child marriage and female gential mutilation, as observed during the recent drought in the Horn of Africa. With humanitarian funding in decline, the outlook for women and girls in crisis — whether it be a disease outbreak, political conflict, or climactic event — will be devastating. One of the most effective safeguards is preparedness. This means acting before a crisis hits by: building resilient health systems; supporting local governments and organisations; identifying and listening to the most vulnerable, while ensuring they have the means to make informed decisions and cope with a rapidly changing environment; and ensuring sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services are never interrupted. To better understand East and Southern Africa's ability to ensure the continuity of SRH services in an emergency, an assessment was conducted to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. The assessment focused on readiness to implement a key emergency response tool — the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) — a proven 'first aid kit' for women and girls. Developed by the Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crises, the MISP includes life-saving interventions used at the start of a crisis to prioritise safe births, address sexually transmitted infections, ensure contraception access, prevent sexual violence and more. Ultimately, tools like the MISP reinforce to countries that investing in SRH preparedness saves lives now and resources later, according to the joint United Nations Regional Programme, 2gether 4 SRHR. Research shows that for every $1 invested in preparedness and system resilience, more than $2 is saved in future response costs over four years. Despite the economic benefits and life-saving measures, only a third of countries in East and Southern Africa have disaster preparedness and response policies and plans that include SRH, and fewer than half the countries in the region have the funding to support this work. In response, 2gether 4 SRHR is working with governments, policymakers and communities to fill this gap by training service providers, strengthening community resilience and advocating for the integration of MISP into disaster preparedness and response plans. With effective advocacy, the number of countries in the region that integrated the MISP into national policies increased from two to 15. Reaffirming the need for preparedness, a recent assessment on the effects of the El Niño-induced droughts and floods in Southern Africa highlighted the need to integrate HIV and SRH into emergency and climate responses as well as prevention and anticipatory action. The assessment highlighted the importance of strong data systems, flexible funding, and uninterrupted service access, and the need to engage civil society and communities to provide peer-led support, particularly for people living with HIV. With evidence and region-wide examples, the work ahead calls for greater interaction with communities and investments from governments, donors and other stakeholders to focus on preparedness, ensuring that policy changes result in sustained action. In an unstable funding environment, preparedness is economically sound for the country and life-saving for those who suffer the most in crises: women, children, and youth. We must act now before the next crisis hits. Women like Kinana depend on it. Marietta Wildt is a gender and humanitarian advocate with the UNAids Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa and Mathias Gakwerere is a humanitarian technical specialist at the United Nations Population Fund regional office for East and Southern Africa.
Eyewitness News
01-08-2025
- Eyewitness News
CT Palestine supporters call for end to starvation of people in Gaza
CAPE TOWN - Palestine supporters in Cape Town are calling for an end to the starvation of people in Gaza. Various activist groups held a peaceful demonstration on the Sea Point Promenade on Sunday, where over one hundred citizens took part in a solidarity walk to end the starvation. They banged empty pots and pans to highlight the call to end hunger. The United Nations has reported that nearly half a million Palestinians are facing famine-like conditions, and a third of the population goes days without eating. Dr Feroza Amien of Healthcare Workers for Palestine said more needs to be done to stop the starvation. 'Children are now dying from malnutrition, which is completely preventable, and it's appalling, so wherever we can, whenever we can, we try and get everyone to the streets, shouting as loud as they can for Israel to stop this madness.' Megan Choritz of South African Jews for a Free Palestine said they are filled with grief and rage. 'We cannot believe that 2 million people are starving, those [who] have survived and are not dead already. Gazan Palestinian Bisan Owda asked the world to bang pots, and this is our response to her call.'
