SECRETARY-GENERAL
The Secretary-General just concluded chairing the bi-annual meeting of the Chief Executives Board and is now on his way back to New York.
At this meeting of the UN leadership in Denmark, the gathered heads of the UN system committed to a stronger, more effective and efficient UN as the organization faces greater challenges and fewer resources. This is the aim of the UN80 initiative.
On that note, on Monday at 11 am, the Secretary-General will deliver remarks to the General Assembly, updating them on his vision for UN80 and the work done so far. We will try to share these remarks with you early on Monday.
POPE LEO XIV
In a statement we issued yesterday, the Secretary-General extended his heartfelt congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and Catholics around the world.
The election of a new Pope is a moment of profound spiritual significance for millions of faithful around the world, and it comes at a time of great global challenges.
Our world is in need of the strongest voices for peace, social justice, human dignity and compassion.
The Secretary-General looks forward to building on the long legacy of cooperation between the United Nations and the Holy See – nurtured most recently by Pope Francis – to advance solidarity, foster reconciliation, and build a just and sustainable world for all.
It is rooted in the first words of Pope Leo. Despite the rich diversity of backgrounds and beliefs, people everywhere share a common goal: May peace be with all the world.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Office stresses that lifting the total blockade of the Strip and allowing principled humanitarian operations has never been more urgent. After nearly 10 weeks with no aid or other supplies entering Gaza, the humanitarian crisis is worsening by the day.
The cost of any further delay is irreversible. Humanitarian deliveries and services must reach everyone, wherever they are, and based on what they need.
OCHA reminds us that stocks administered by the UN and our partners have been handled securely and delivered with proven safeguards to people in need. But supplies inside Gaza have mostly run out, while large quantities are waiting just outside. Our teams are ready to scale up the moment access is granted.
And to give you a better sense of the dire conditions on the ground – our partners working on nutrition report that over the past week, more babies and other children are seeking support from clinics due to malnutrition. Compared to February this year, the proportion of children suffering from acute malnutrition has almost doubled.
Meanwhile, you might recall that earlier this week, in Deir al Balah, an UNRWA school in Al Bureij camp – where some 300 families were sheltering – was hit twice within several hours. On Wednesday, our partners visited the site, noting that people there urgently need latrines, tents, water tanks and mattresses.
In Gaza City and Khan Younis, our partners working in health continue to provide health services in hospitals. They tell us that efforts are underway in Khan Younis to establish an additional hospital, with more than 100 beds and lab X-ray machines.
Today, our partners working to support telecommunications in Gaza tell us that the fibre optic cable has been damaged for more than six weeks, while Israeli authorities continue to deny coordination requests to allow its repair. The latest rejection was this morning. As the cable is a critical source of data connectivity for humanitarian responders, partners continue to submit coordination requests daily.
Regarding fuel, today, a UN team led by OCHA retrieved some supplies from a fuel station in Rafah, after the Israeli authorities facilitated our colleagues’ efforts to reach it. This is the second consecutive day we've been allowed to retrieve fuel from Rafah after nearly three weeks of denials. The supplies we have been able to retrieve represent a trickle compared to the immense needs.
OCHA stresses the need for Israeli authorities to facilitate humanitarians’ movements inside Gaza. 70 per cent of the Gaza Strip is either within the Israeli-militarized zone, under displacement orders, or in areas where these two overlap.
SYRIA
Turning to Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that people continue to be on the move across the country. More than 670,000 people have been displaced since November 2024, while over one million people have returned to their areas of origin. Explosive ordnance contamination – including unexploded ordnance, mines, improvised explosive devices and other explosive remnants of war – continue to have a deadly impact across Syria.
Since December 8th of 2024, more than 900 civilian casualties have been reported, including 367 deaths and 542 injuries. Children represent over one third of these casualties.
Meanwhile, we and our partners continue to deliver aid across the country despite a severe funding environment. This includes support to displacement sites, creating livelihood opportunities, restoring water supplies and providing food and nutrition assistance.
And just to note that our humanitarian appeal between January and June seeks $2 billion to support 8 million people, but is only 10 per cent funded, with $204 million received.
SUDAN
Turning to Sudan, we have an update for you on our efforts to support people displaced by ongoing violence in North Darfur state. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, says UN humanitarian teams just completed a vital mission to the town of Tawila, where people displaced by attacks in Zamzam camp have sought shelter. This was a cross-border mission via the Adre crossing from Chad, a lifeline for the flow of humanitarian supplies and personnel into Darfur.
Mr. Fletcher stressed that humanitarian needs there are massive and called safe, sustained access, including via Adre. The World Food Programme has been providing food and nutrition supplies in Tawila, supporting even more people than originally planned amid the overwhelming needs, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced. So far, more than 300,000 people in Tawila who fled Zamzam and El Fasher have received vital food and nutrition aid from WFP. And as we told you yesterday, WFP says more aid is on its way over the coming week.
Non-governmental partners have been on the ground responding, despite limited resources and the volatile operating environment. We call once again on all parties to facilitate safe, unhindered and sustained access to the area, via all necessary routes. Our humanitarian colleagues also underscore the urgent need for stepped-up, flexible funding to sustain and expand life-saving support for people in need in North Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that, due to funding shortfalls, the humanitarian community has re-prioritized its response plan.
As a reminder, the full humanitarian response plan this year aims to assist 11 million people across the DRC at a cost of $2.5 billion. Within that plan, our humanitarian partners have identified lifesaving interventions to help 6.8 million of the most vulnerable people at a cost of $1.25 billion – approximately half of the full plan’s requirements. But as of today, only $233 million has been received. That’s only half the amount we had secured by this time last year, despite escalating needs in the wake of the crisis in the East.
OCHA is also calling for greater protection of civilians in conflict-affected areas and more support to prevent the collapse of essential services and address the root causes of the crisis.
As an example of how dire the humanitarian situation is, the Congolese Government has officially declared a cholera outbreak in six provinces. As of this Monday, more than 18,000 cholera cases and 364 deaths have been reported since January and health authorities are facing shortages of medical supplies. Authorities have requested more support from partners, including strengthening epidemiological surveillance, ensuring access to clean water, and distributing hygiene kits.
WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA
The World Food Programme today warned that conflict, displacement, economic deterioration, and recurrent extreme weather in West and Central Africa are driving millions of people towards emergency levels of hunger or IPC phase 4.
According to the latest food security analysis of the Cadre Harmonisé, more than 36 million people are struggling to meet their basic food and nutrition needs, a number projected to rise to over 52 million during the June–August 2025 lean season, including almost three million in emergency conditions - IPC4, and 2,600 people in Mali at risk of facing catastrophic hunger - IPC5.
WFP aims to reach almost 12 million women, men, girls and boys in West Africa and the Sahel with assistance and nutritional support this year to help the most vulnerable withstand hunger shocks when they inevitably occur.
This year, WFP has already reached three million of the most vulnerable with life-saving assistance – including refugees, internally displaced people, malnourished children under five, and pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls.
HAITI
And in Haiti, our humanitarian colleagues say that a recent surge in armed violence in the Lower Artibonite Department has forced thousands of people to flee their homes. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 16,000 people were displaced between 28 April and 3 May, with many families now living in makeshift shelters with limited access to safe water, food and healthcare.
OCHA is supporting authorities to identify priority needs and is coordinating the response. UNICEF supported the deployment of three mobile clinics, reaching nearly 2,000 displaced people this week. UNICEF is also working with partners to sustain pediatric, nutrition, and immunization services and prepositioned hygiene kits for nearly 2,000 people.
Particular attention is also given to children who are bearing the brunt of the ongoing violence. UNICEF and its partners are setting up child-friendly spaces in displacement sites, providing psychosocial support, and strengthening case management systems to monitor and respond to serious protection concerns. While access remains a challenge in some areas, our teams on the ground are working closely with local partners to ensure that assistance reaches those most in need.
COLOMBIA
Turning to Colombia, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that nearly 50,000 people in the Chocó region, in the west of the country, have been under complete mobility restrictions during this first week of May.
They remain cut off from essential services due to activities of non-State armed groups. Since the start the year, more than 775,000 people in Colombia have suffered total mobility and access restrictions, confinements, or displacement due to armed conflict and clashes among non-State armed groups and the security forces. This means that communities are restricted from accessing food and healthcare, among other critical services.
OCHA, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and UNICEF will, next week, assess the needs and support the communities in Chocó affected by these restrictions.
The $342 million Humanitarian Response Plan to assist some 2 million vulnerable people is only 14 per cent funded, with $48 million received so far.
COSTA RICA
The UN Refugee Agency tells us that Costa Rica’s ability to assist refugees from Nicaragua is being threatened by major funding cuts to the agency.
As of March this year, Costa Rica hosted more than 194,000 Nicaraguan asylum-seekers and 9,216 recognized Nicaraguan refugees – accounting for over half of all displaced Nicaraguans worldwide. Over the past years, humanitarian aid – including crucial financial assistance that has supported integration – has enabled thousands of Nicaraguans in Costa Rica to access legal support, navigate asylum procedures, and pursue other legal pathways.
However, this lifeline is now in jeopardy as a 41 per cent reduction in funding has already forced the suspension or cuts of many essential services.
UNHCR is appealing to the international community for increased support to maintain life-saving operations in the country. The organization needs $40.4 million to continue its critical work in the country this year.
CENTRAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND
The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher has released two new allocations from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund. The first $2.5 million allocation will support the response to the arrival of more than 60,000 refugees in Uganda from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have arrived in the country since the start of the year. Since the start of the year more than 60,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo have arrived in the country. With the new funding, UN and partners will provide life-saving assistance to over 40,000 refugees, including clean drinking water, food, healthcare and nutrition support. And in Angola, a $1.8 million CERF allocation will support the urgent response to cholera amid the worst outbreak in the country in two decades. Since January 2025, the outbreak has spread to 17 out of Angola’s 21 provinces with a total of more than 18,000 cases and 586 deaths reported as of May 7th. The allocation will support the scale up of the response and help prevent a further spread of the disease.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Tomorrow is World Migratory Bird Day. This Day aims to raise awareness of migratory birds and issues related to their conservation.
Tomorrow is also International Day of Argania. The argan tree is a native species of the sub-Saharan region of Morocco. The argan oil is extracted from its seeds.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
We would like to say thank you to our friends in Somalia and Israel for their full payments to the Regular Budget. The payments from Somalia and Israel bring the number of fully paid-up Member States to 103.
