Latest news with #FarhanHaq
Hans India
a day ago
- Health
- Hans India
Some 80,000 children at risk of cholera across West, Central Africa: UN
An estimated 80,000 children are at high risk of cholera as the rainy season begins across West and Central Africa, a UN spokesperson said. Active outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria raise the threat of cross-border transmission to neighbouring countries, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, at a daily briefing on Wednesday. Chad, the Republic of Congo, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Togo are also grappling with ongoing epidemics, Haq cited UNICEF. Niger, Liberia, Benin, the Central African Republic and Cameroon remain under surveillance due to vulnerability, he added. Since the start of the outbreaks, UNICEF has been delivering health, water, hygiene and sanitation supplies to treatment facilities and communities, said the spokesperson. Besides supporting cholera vaccination in the affected areas and encouraging families to seek treatment and improve hygiene practices, urgent and scaled-up efforts are needed to prevent further spread and contain the disease across the region, Xinhua news agency reported. To augment the emergency response across the region over the next three months, UNICEF West and Central Africa urgently requires $20 million to provide support in health, water and sanitation, risk communication and community engagement, Haq said. According to the World Health Organization, Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It is a global public health threat and indicates inequity and a lack of social and economic development. Access to safe water, basic sanitation and hygiene is essential to prevent cholera and other waterborne diseases. Most people with cholera have mild or moderate diarrhoea and can be treated with oral rehydration solution (ORS). However, the disease can progress rapidly, so starting treatment quickly is vital to save lives. Patients with severe disease need intravenous fluids, ORS and antibiotics. Countries need strong epidemiological and laboratory surveillance to swiftly detect and monitor outbreaks and guide responses. Cholera outbreaks occur regularly in some countries. In others, they are less frequent, and it may be years between outbreaks. Cholera is linked to limited access to safe water, basic sanitation facilities and poor hygiene practices. This may be due to conflict, population displacement, climate events like cyclones, floods or drought, and lack of investment in maintaining and improving WASH services and infrastructure. The number of cholera cases reported to the WHO has continued to rise in recent years. In 2023, a total of 535,321 cases and 4007 deaths were reported to the WHO from 45 countries. The discrepancy between these figures and the numbers estimated by researchers is likely due to limited surveillance systems and cases not being recorded out of fear of repercussions for trade and tourism.
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Health
- Qatar Tribune
More than 100 Gazans killed in past 24 hours in Israeli attacks
dpa Washington More than 100 people have been killed in Gaza due to Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours, the territory's health authority said on Wednesday. The ministry reported 104 dead and 399 injured in the past 24 hours. According to Palestinian figures, more than 60,100 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war, while over 146,200 have been injured. Despite the Israeli military's daily pauses in fighting in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations on Wednesday said the population is still suffering and civilian deaths are continuing to mount. 'Four days since the start of tactical pauses in Gaza, declared by the Israeli authorities, we're still seeing casualties among those seeking aid, and more deaths due to hunger and malnutrition,' the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. In addition, children and adults continue to die of hunger and malnutrition. 'Parents continue to struggle to save their starving children,' spokesman Farhan Haq said. The conditions for the delivery of relief supplies remain inadequate and not enough aid is reaching the area. Haq cited the challenges at the Kerem Shalom border crossing as an example. This is a fenced-off area to which drivers can only gain access with authorization from the Israeli authorities. Before aid can enter the territory, Israel first has to authorize the journey, determine safe routes, approve movements to certain areas several times, suspend airstrikes and finally open the gates to allow entry, he explained. According to the UN, the Gaza Strip is on the brink of famine. Local authorities controlled by the Palestinian group Hamas say more than 100 people have already died of starvation. The United Nations considers the reports to be credible. Israel controls all access roads to Gaza and has sealed off the coastal area. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for increased food aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, warning that children there are starving. 'Whether they talk starvation or not, those are kids that are starving,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his return flight from Scotland to Washington.
Zawya
3 days ago
- Health
- Zawya
Sudan: United Nation (UN) sounds the alarm as health and food crises worsen across the country
As conflict between rival militaries rages on, millions of people keep on being displaced. While the UN and its partners continue to provide assistance to newly displaced families in North Darfur, 'nearly 60 per cent of displaced families still lack adequate shelter support,' said Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, at a daily press briefing on Monday. In Abu Shouk camp in El Fasher, the North Darfur capital, displaced families are facing acute shortages of food and medicine, with local sources reporting four hunger-related deaths last week, as food insecurity continues to worsen across the entire country. In North Darfur state notably, low cereal supply, poor harvests and a prolonged food deficit have severely affected food availability. Health crisis Meanwhile, cholera cases continue to rise in Tawila. More than 1,500 suspected and confirmed serious infections have been reported since June, with over 500 people currently receiving treatment. While local authorities have introduced emergency measures, including market closures and a ban on public gatherings, humanitarian organizations urgently require $120 million to scale up life-saving support in Tawila over the next three months. 'This funding is essential to contain the outbreak and sustain critical services,' according to OCHA. Meanwhile, in Port Sudan, the main entry point for humanitarian personnel and supplies, a sharp increase in heatstroke cases linked to extreme temperature and prolonged power outages is raising concerns, as one death was recorded over the past two days. Food crisis In El Fasher, food prices continue to rise to alarming levels. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has already identified famine conditions in multiple areas of North Darfur and the eastern Nuba Mountains, with more locations at risk. In May, the average cost of the local food basket in El Fasher was more than six times the national average, as the city recorded the highest prices for nearly all essential items among assessed localities. An IPC alert earlier this month noted that Sudan's food security and nutrition situation is set to further deteriorate over the lean season from July to October, notably in areas of active conflict with limited access and experiencing high levels of displacement. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.
Barnama
3 days ago
- General
- Barnama
UN Warns Airdrops In Gaza 'Last Resort,' Pose Risks To Civilians On Ground
Humanitarian aid is airdropped over Gaza as seen from northern Gaza Strip July 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas HAMILTON (Canada), July 29 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The United Nations (UN) on Monday cautioned that while humanitarian airdrops have resumed in the Gaza Strip, they remain a "last resort" and pose serious risks to civilians on the ground, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. "While we welcome all efforts to provide aid to the people who desperately need it, UN agencies and partners remind us, airdrops are the last resort measure and carry risks for people on the ground," UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters at a news conference. He added that "injuries were reported on Sunday when packages fell on tents." bootstrap slideshow He said the UN is not directly involved in the ongoing airdrops, adding: "Obviously, we welcome any efforts to provide more aid, including airdrops." "You can't possibly get more aid in through airdrops than you can through road convoys," he said. On Israel's recent decision to simplify movement procedures for aid convoys, Haq said: "Out of 17 missions requiring coordination with the Israeli authorities, eight were facilitated, including the collection of fuel and supplies from Kerem Shalom, while three have been denied and two cancelled." "Four missions, including the uplift of food cargo, were impeded but accomplished," he said. Noting that Israel's "long-standing restrictions on the entry of aid have created an unpredictable environment with a lack of confidence by communities that aid will reach them," the spokesman said: "This has resulted in many of our convoys being offloaded directly by starving desperate people." "Yesterday, hungry people offloaded food supplies before they could reach their intended destination," he added.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel announces 'humanitarian pauses' in Gaza Strip
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has said it would implement "humanitarian pauses" to allow the distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning. The pause would apply to "civilian centers and in humanitarian corridors" in Gaza, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on X late on Saturday. Despite fierce international criticism, Israel has been allowing very little aid into the coastal strip. The ministry went on say that, while "Israel has continued to facilitate the entry of aid trucks into the Gaza strip," the United Nations "failed so far to collect and distribute the large amount of aid trucks that are stored in designated areas inside of the Gaza strip." The Israeli ministry said that the UN now would "collect and distribute the large quantities of aid, without any further delay or excuses." "Israel rejects the false accusations of 'starvation' propaganda initiated by Hamas which manipulates pictures of children suffering from terminal diseases. It is shameful," the ministry said. The UN has been contradicting the Israeli claim that the organization was refusing to distribute food. "We are not trying to prevent all these people, including our own people, from getting food. They're being held up by different obstacles, including those placed by the Israeli authorities," UN spokesman Farhan Haq said on Thursday. Haq added that the multi-stage approval process by the Israeli military was very cumbersome, with significant delays, often resulting in nightfall before the reloaded goods could set off. Earlier on Saturday evening, the Israeli military said that it wanted to resume airdrops of aid supplies over the Gaza Strip and also wants to enable the delivery of food and medicine by the UN via humanitarian corridors. The Israeli military also said that a drinking water treatment plant in the Gaza Strip has also been reconnected to the Israeli power grid. At the same time, Israeli authorities said that fighting would continue in order to free all hostages and defeat Palestinian militant organization Hamas. The first airdrop of relief supplies was due to take place on Saturday night, but it only involved seven pallets of relief supplies, including flour, sugar and tinned food, according to COGAT, the Israeli military authority responsible for approving and coordinating aid transports. The operation is to be carried out in coordination with international aid organizations. But volunteers point out that delivery by air is considered the most expensive and ineffective form of humanitarian aid delivery - also because it usually involves relatively small quantities. Before the military's announcement that Israel would resume airdrops, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said his country would resume air drops "immediately." "The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical and unprecedented level," the minister said in a post on X. "We will ensure essential aid reaches those most in need, whether through land, air or sea. Air drops are resuming once more, immediately. Our commitment to alleviating suffering and providing support is resolute and unwavering." Around 2 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip, most of whom are in urgent need of aid. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a deadly hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip. Numerous other aid organizations are also warning of this. Solve the daily Crossword
