Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Chad, Lesotho
Occupied Palestinian Territory
OCHA reports that partners concluded the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign yesterday in southern Gaza. More than 256,000 children in Khan Younis and Rafah were reached over a period of four days.
The initial round of the campaign is now almost 70 per cent complete, with more than 446,000 children vaccinated out of the 640,000 targeted during this first round of vaccinations. The second round is expected to start in four weeks’ time.
The last phase of this first round is set to begin tomorrow in northern Gaza. However, a new Israeli evacuation order issued for parts of the north includes areas where local pauses had been agreed for polio vaccination. About 5,000 displaced people sheltering in seven collective centres, mostly schools, are among those affected by this order, according to initial assessments by humanitarian partners.
Today’s directive is the first issued since 25 August and includes four neighbourhoods in north-west Beit Lahia and Jabalya. These areas had already been affected by previous evacuation orders, with residents instructed to move southward.
OCHA warns that repeated evacuation orders are deepening the humanitarian crisis for hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza. As of today, more than 55 evacuation orders remain in effect, covering up to 86 per cent of the Strip.
These directives – coupled with active hostilities, attacks on aid convoys, the destruction of key roads, the presence of unexploded ordnance, and a lack of public order and safety – are impeding aid operations in Gaza.
Access delays and denials also continue to significantly constrain humanitarian access. OCHA reports that the number of humanitarian missions and movements within Gaza that were denied access by the Israeli authorities nearly doubled in August compared to July – with 105 missions and movements denied last month, versus 53 the previous month.
This has significantly disrupted the delivery of life-saving assistance, including water, sanitation and hygiene services, as well as health care and the fuel urgently needed to keep critical health facilities running.
Children in Gaza continue to suffer the worst effects of the humanitarian crisis there. Today would have marked the start of the new school year in Gaza, but after 11 months of hostilities, more than 600,000 students are being deprived of access to formal education for a second straight year.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East says no official schooling is available in any of the agency’s 200 schools, with many serving as shelters for displaced Palestinians. UNRWA says its teams are still providing recreational activities and psychosocial support in some of its schools.
Sudan
OCHA warns that heavy rains and flooding are having a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of people in Sudan.
About half a million people have been affected since late June, with North Darfur State hardest hit. South Darfur, Red Sea, River Nile and Northern states have also been impacted.
The severe flooding is worsening an already dire humanitarian situation in Sudan. More than 172,000 people have been displaced and scores have been killed and injured due to the floods.
Some 124,000 people have been affected by heavy rains in areas at risk of famine, including in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. Famine conditions were confirmed there last month in the Zamzam displacement camp.
Despite the flooding, the UN and partners on the ground are doing everything they can to reach people with assistance. Last week, aid organizations delivered life-saving therapeutic food to treat 6,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the city of Nyala in South Darfur. In Northern State, partners distributed relief items to tens of thousands of people.
Flooding and stagnant water are also heightening the risk of diseases spreading, with nearly 2,900 suspected cholera cases reported since the start of the latest outbreak in mid-August.
The UN and partners continue efforts to respond to the recent outbreak. Today, UNICEF reported that more than 400,000 cholera vaccine doses have arrived in the country.
Chad
Flooding in Chad continues to worsen across the country. According to authorities, at least 340 people have been killed in the floods and nearly 1.5 million people are affected, an increase of 90,000 people in a week. More than 160,000 homes have also been destroyed.
The floods are also impacting agriculture, as the country already faces food insecurity with nearly 3.4 million people are facing acute hunger (IPC3+) in the current lean season. So far, more than 250,000 hectares of crops are flooded and more than 60,000 heads of livestock have been lost.
Chadian authorities, UN agencies and humanitarian partners are providing food and nutrition supplies, among other urgent aid. The UN and partners are also building shelters and providing tents, tarpaulins and blankets.
Meanwhile, our health partners continue to support affected provinces, including with vaccinations and surveillance of water-borne disease.
As the situation is evolving rapidly, the Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, has increased the allocation from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support the floods response from US$5 million to $8 million.
Lesotho
OCHA reports that the food security situation in Lesotho is deteriorating following a historic drought caused by El Niño. On average, agricultural production in the country has decreased by one third, reaching the lowest levels since 2018 and 2019.
Authorities in Lesotho declared a National Food Insecurity Disaster in July. According to their latest figures, nearly a third of the population – or 700,000 people – are facing food insecurity in the coming months. The drought is also straining Lesotho’s economy.
The Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, has allocated US$2 million from the Central Emergency Relief Fund toward the drought.
The Assistant Secretary-General and Climate Crisis Coordinator, Reena Ghelani, recently visited Lesotho to assess the drought’s impact and call for more international support for the humanitarian response.
The Government of Lesotho has released an El Niño National Response Plan calling for $213 million. The Government and its partners have mobilised $100 million in funding to support immediate humanitarian needs, resilience building and development initiatives.
The United Nations team in Lesotho is scaling up its operations to support the Government-led efforts.