Today's top news: Myanmar, Occupied Palestinian Territory, World Humanitarian Day
Myanmar
At the end of a three-day visit to Myanmar, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, today, called for expanded humanitarian access and increased funding to assist the 18 million people in need of aid.
The number of displaced persons in Myanmar has increased fivefold in less than three years, from 380,000 at the start of 2021 to 1.9 million at present.
During the visit, Mr. Griffiths met with families affected by conflict and natural disasters, including with Rakhine and Rohingya communities.
He also met with the State Administration Council Chairman, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, with whom he discussed what humanitarians need in order to scale-up direct aid to affected populations.
In a press release about the trip, Mr. Griffiths said he expressed his concerns about the protection risks facing civilians in conflict areas and the bureaucratic constraints humanitarians are facing in reaching them. He said it was critical to have the humanitarian space needed for safe, sustained aid deliveries around the country.
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Today, an elementary school for Palestinian children ages 6-12 was demolished in the West Bank area of Ein Samiya, just a few days before the start of the new school year.
According to UNICEF, 3 schools have been demolished across the West Bank in the past 12 months, affecting 78 students.
We understand that some 58 schools across the Occupied Palestinian territory are under the threat of demolition by the Israeli authorities.
The school served pupils from the few Palestinian families remaining in the herding community of Ein Samiya, following the displacement of most of the community amid settler violence and diminishing grazing land.
Since 2022, OCHA has recorded the displacement of at least 477 Palestinians from seven herding communities. Three of these communities are now empty.
The United Nations and its humanitarian partners are currently assessing the urgent needs of 60 herding communities facing similar challenges.
World Humanitarian Day
World Humanitarian Day is coming up on 19 August. This year will mark 20 years since the 2003 suicide bomb attack on the UN headquarters in the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, which killed 22 UN staff.
2023 is set to become another year of high aid worker casualties. So far this year, 62 humanitarian workers have been killed in crises around the world, 84 have been wounded and 34 kidnapped, according to provisional data from the Aid Worker Security Database research team at Humanitarian Outcomes.
South Sudan has ranked highest in insecurity for several consecutive years. Forty attacks on aid workers and 22 fatalities have been reported as of 16 August. Sudan is a close second, with 17 attacks on humanitarians and 19 fatalities reported so far this year. Other aid worker casualties have been recorded in the Central African Republic, Mali, Somalia and Ukraine.
To mark the day, the humanitarians launched a campaign to highlight their continuing commitment to deliver for the communities they serve, no matter who, no matter where and #NoMatterWhat.