UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization.

Food Assistance to Famine-Risk Populations in North Darfur, Sudan

Samantha Chattaraj, Sudan Country Office Emergency Coordinator, World Food Programme (WFP), said Sudan was undoubtably one of the most complex and challenging humanitarian situations in the world. In recent weeks, WFP had had some access breakthroughs and reached populations that had been largely cut off from aid.

In March, WFP reached four million people across Sudan—the highest monthly figure since the conflict began in April 2023 and nearly four times the number of people it was assisting per month at the same time one year ago. This included 1.6 million people in areas classified as “in famine” or “at risk of famine”. In the last month, it had supported four out of five people with these extreme levels of hunger across all the 27 localities facing famine.

This still represented just a fraction of the needs. Across the country, nearly 25 million people, or half the population, faced acute hunger. Nearly five million children and breastfeeding mothers were acutely malnourished. Sudan was also the only place in the world where famine was currently confirmed. 

WFP’s goal was to reach seven million people by mid-year, focusing primarily on the 27 areas that were classified as in famine or risk of famine, and the emergency-level nutrition hotspot areas.

Ms. Chattaraj said she had earlier this week returned from a mission to Khartoum, where she met with local authorities to scale up emergency food and nutrition assistance to one million people across greater Khartoum in the coming month. This could not happen soon enough, as it included many areas at high risk of famine.

She said that what she saw was absolutely devastating. Vast parts of the city were destroyed. Levels of hunger and desperation were extremely high, yet people remained hopeful. Many were expected to try to return to their homes in the coming months. But their basic needs – including food – needed to be met.

WFP food distributions for 100,00 people had just started in Jabal Awlia, an area south of Khartoum that was at high risk of famine. These trucks arrived last week and were the first aid deliveries into Jabal Awlia since last December. Additional aid deliveries were en route to greater Khartoum over the coming weeks, as WFP pushed to establish a stronger operational footprint that would allow regular deliveries to the capital.

Additionally, WFP delivered nearly 800 metric tonnes of food aid to famine-struck areas in the Western Nuba Mountains, supporting 64,000 people. These were the first in-kind food deliveries to the area since conflict started two years ago.

Meanwhile, trucks carrying 1,600 metric tonnes of WFP food and nutrition supplies for 220,000 people had started to arrive in Tawila, North Darfur, where 180,000 people fleeing from El Fasher and Zamzam camp had arrived in the last week alone. 

Reports from the ground were shocking. It was deeply disturbing that around 450,000 people who were already facing famine and enduring horrific levels of violence had been forced to flee from El Fasher and Zamzam camp in just a matter of weeks. WFP was mobilising assistance to reach people wherever they had fled to – across different parts of Darfur and Northern State.

Many of the recently displaced had been trapped by conflict in El Fasher or Zamzam for months. WFP had been doing everything possible to assist people even in the face of escalating violence. Last month, 270,000 people in El Fasher and Zamzam received assistance from WFP. Another WFP convoy from Port Sudan was currently en route to El Fasher, carrying 1,000 metric tonnes of assistance for about 100,000 people who remained in the besieged city.

WFP had also delivered mobile warehouses to Tawila. These were being set up now to increase storage capacity so the organisation could pre-stock food. This was vital ahead of the rainy season, which started in June and would leave many routes across the Darfur region impassable.

It was vitally important that WFP pre-positioned assistance close to populations in need now. There were just a few weeks to do this before the rains started, which would make it very difficult for large trucks carrying food assistance to travel.

However, this progress was fragile. As WFP ramped up its response in the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, it needed sustained humanitarian access to deliver a consistent flow of aid to needy populations; and additional funding to meet overwhelming needs of the Sudanese people. Only then could the tide of famine be turned.

Read the full briefing note here.

In response to questions, Ms. Chattaraj said WFP had been mobilising all possible options to scale up assistance. Over the last few months, it had assisted more than three million people each month. This was made possible by combining various modalities, including cash transfers, to reach populations in need. WFP had also ramped up engagement with stakeholders to facilitate access. Changes in control had led to new areas becoming accessible, including in Khartoum and Al Jazeera.

The challenges WFP was facing included insecurity, long roads and weather conditions. The last few trucks would arrive in Khartoum soon. WFP would face a shortfall in food items from May and in other commodities from June. It was working to increase its capacity in the rainy season, which was typically the lean season.

United States funding cuts had not affected operations; allocations for Sudan remained intact, and WFP was very grateful for that. It appealed to the United States to keep its critical, life-saving assistance flowing to Sudan.

There would be a break in the aid pipeline if more funding did not arrive soon. This would lead to a reduction in ration sizes, beneficiaries and the geographical scope of aid during the lean season, while conflict escalated. If WFP did not get the funding it needed, its targets for aid in Sudan would not be met.

Khartoum was previously cut-off from aid, but such aid was now being delivered at scale. Women and children had broken down in tears upon seeing United Nations staff bringing aid. There was also currently a cholera outbreak, and many communities had extreme needs. More aid was needed to put these communities on the path to recovery.

Funding Shortfalls Threaten Emergency Response in Burundi

Ayaki Ito, Director for Emergencies, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said he had visited Burundi from 8 to 16 April. Burundi bordered the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which faced one of the largest and most severe humanitarian crises in the world. This crisis had impacted the small neighbouring country of Burundi, which was one of the most densely populated in Africa.

The influx of refugees in Burundi that started in February was the first refugee crisis declared by the UNHCR since the start of the current global humanitarian funding crisis. The situation in Burundi brought security and economic concerns. Even before the influx, Burundi hosted around 87,000 refugees, as well as returning Burundian refugees, arriving mostly from Tanzania. It was a very complex and fluid situation.

Since January this year, 71,000 refugees had arrived in Burundi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the beginning of the influx, it was difficult to care for these refugees. The Government, local responders and the local community had done a tremendous job in accommodating these refugees.

The Burundi Government sought to host these refugees in a settlement for new arrivals in Musenyi in the east of the country, which was a five-hour drive from the west where refugees were arriving. Some persons were moving to the settlement, which involved crossing a 100-metre-wide river, but many remained in the community in the west. UNHCR wanted to see these refugees remaining in the community in the west, which was being supported by the humanitarian community and development partners. It was working with the Government in this regard.

Some 53 per cent of newly arriving refugees were children, many of whom were separated from their parents or unaccompanied. There were also many survivors of gender-based violence and sexual violence. UNHCR had a system for identifying victims and referring them to support, but responding to these vulnerable persons was very challenging and the situation was overwhelming.

Some 13,000 people had recently arrived in the Musenyi settlement in the east, bringing its population to 16,000. Food rations were only half what they needed to be and would only last until June, unless there was additional funding. Some tents on the settlement, which had to had to be erected on agricultural land, had been flooded. Previously, refugees had been able to go to school and healthcare facilities outside of the camp, but this was not possible now due to overcrowding.

These refugees and their host community needed support. The Government had recognised the new arrivals as refugees. However, many refugees made hard choices to travel across the river between Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to seek safety and support. One mother with three small children had wrapped her belongings in a plastic sheet to make a boat and used it to make the perilous journey down the river, which was filled with crocodiles and hippos.

The situation needed to be stabilised so that people could make use of the protection offered by the Government of Burundi. It was up to the international community to support refugees and the host community. UNHCR and partners were about to launch an appeal for 76.5 million United States dollars to address the situation.

Humanitarian workers were struggling. They had had to respond to a huge influx in refugees in uncertain circumstances. UNHCR had had to scale up its operations while reducing some programmes due to the funding crisis. They needed support.

The world should not forget Burundi, a region that needed peace, Mr. Ito added.

Read the full briefing note here.

In response to questions, Mr. Ito said 53 per cent of registered refugees were children. UNHCR had been unable to register all refugees in the host community.

The transit centre in Rugombo had faced a very difficult situation in February, with the upsurge in refugee arrivals. Some refugees had gone to the settlement in the east, while others had moved to the community surrounding the transit centre. UNHCR was working with the Government to identify refugees and guiding it in the provision of support.

Update on Aid Efforts in Ukraine after the Latest Attacks on Kyiv

Karolina Lindholm Billing, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Ukraine, said today was an official day of mourning in Kyiv, because Kyiv residents woke up to another deadly Russian attack yesterday, 24 April. Such attacks had intensified alarmingly since the start of this year. 

In Kyiv, 12 people died and 84 were injured, and more than 1,000 people had been directly affected, as their homes had been damaged or completely destroyed. Civilians and infrastructure were also hit in several other regions yesterday, including in Kharkiv, where Ms. Lindholm Billing woke at 2 a.m. to the loud sound of explosions. Apartment buildings, a polyclinic, and a school were among the locations hit. She reported seeing families with children and retired couples sweeping up glass from floors and distributing plywood boards to cover broken windows.

This was the latest in a more than three-year cycle of destruction, repair, destruction – but it was not breaking the will and determination of the Ukrainian people to remain in their homes.

In recent weeks, intensified large-scale aerial attacks on Sumy, Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Marhanets and several other cities had killed and injured civilians and caused damage to residential areas and people’s homes, medical facilities, schools and other infrastructure. Alarmingly, civilian casualties in Ukraine were 70 per cent higher this March than in March last year – as reported by the United Nations’ Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. 

In addition, attacks continued unabated in the frontline regions – with civilians bearing the highest cost. More civilians were being forced to flee the escalation of hostilities in the frontline regions, prompting the Ukrainian authorities to issue new mandatory evacuation orders. 

Since January, more than 3,500 people had transited through a centre in Pavlohrad. Last month, more than 4,200 evacuees arrived at a transit centre in Sumy, where UNHCR and partners were providing humanitarian support to the newly displaced. These numbers were only a fraction of the total number of those newly displaced. More than 200,000 people fled their homes between August 2024 and the start of 2025.

With Ukrainian non-governmental organization partners, UNHCR was on-site alongside the authorities and first responders delivering critical aid. It was the largest humanitarian provider of emergency shelter materials in Ukraine, supporting around 450,000 people with this assistance since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. UNHCR teams also remained on the ground supporting people after yesterday’s devastating attack in Kyiv.

UNHCR was also providing psychosocial assistance to traumatised people, reaching some 280,000 individuals, including with psychological first aid immediately after attacks, legal support for those who had lost their documents, and emergency cash assistance to help people cover their most basic needs. 

Ms. Lindholm Billing said she had met refugees who had fled frontline areas, arriving with few or no belongings and deeply traumatized. They expressed profound gratitude for the support they received at the reception centre. Assistance from humanitarian actors, she noted, was crucial — sustaining the resilience of the Ukrainian people and enabling them to survive and remain in their homes.

More support was needed to sustain a timely and predictable response to the calls for assistance from the affected people and the authorities. UNHCR and partners had the capacity to provide the needed support, provided they had the necessary funds.

Read the full briefing note here.

In response to questions, Ms. Lindholm Billing said people who remained in frontline areas needed the basics for their survival, including hygiene items and emergency shelter material. Those who were newly displaced needed somewhere to stay and cash assistance to pay for essentials. Victims of attacks like those faced by the residents of Kyiv yesterday needed psychological support, cash assistance and legal aid to obtain documents needed to identify themselves. The needs were highest among those living in frontline areas. The majority of those in need were older people, persons with disabilities and families with children who had stayed in these areas because they did not want to leave everything behind.

UNHCR had had to reprioritise its response activities and reduce its staff. Its appeal for the year was just 25 per cent funded. It appealed to donors for increased support to help people repair their properties and remain there rather than flee somewhere else. People in Ukraine were devastated by the continued attacks and having to flee their homes. They wanted the war to stop, and to be able to return to their homes and rebuild their lives.

UNHCR had been impacted by funding suspensions. It had received some funding from the United States, which it was very grateful for. This funding helped people to remain in their homes rather than flee. Some of the programmes that had been implemented with United States funding were psychosocial support, emergency shelter materials, and cash assistance programmes; this assistance had now partially been put on hold. UNHCR hoped that funding would resume at the level needed to continue support programmes for the rest of the year. Responding to attacks was crucial, and authorities in Ukraine could not do it alone. If people who were affected could not receive support immediately after attacks, it compounded suffering.

Last year, funding from the United States accounted for 40 per cent of UNHCR’s overall funding. This year, it had thus far received a much smaller percentage of its funding from the United States, but it hoped that funding would increase later this year.

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, read out excerpts of a statement issued yesterday by Matthias Schmale, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, through which he condemned the recent attack by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on residential areas in Kyiv and surrounding regions, resulting in the death of several civilians.

Mr. Gómez said the United Nations’ priority was protecting civilians and ending the war. Any peaceful settlement needed to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The war had caused untold destruction; it needed to end now. The work of UNHCR in the country was of paramount importance, alongside political discussions.

Health Needs and Response to the Myanmar Earthquake One Month On

Dr Thushara Fernando, World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Myanmar, said one month after the two powerful earthquakes which stuck the central region of Myanmar, over 3,700 people had lost their lives, about 5,100 people were injured, and 114 people remained missing. Tens of thousands were still displaced, living in makeshift tents, many with only plastic sheets as a cover. Some had pitched alongside pools of stagnant rainwater. They fed their babies, ate and drank in their tents without even a simple mosquito net to sleep under in the night.

In Mandalay, WHO staff recently met families sheltering under plastic sheets in a football field. After rain, the ground had turned to thick, ankle-deep mud. When it rained, they could not sleep. When it stopped, they feared the wind might tear their only shelter away. Some tents were shared by three or more families, many of whom had lost loved ones, homes, and their meagre belongings or livelihoods.

Even in such hardship, neighbours were helping neighbours, families were building tents together, sharing food, and comforting each other. However, many were not aware of the serious health risks they were exposed to.

The risk of infectious disease outbreaks was rising sharply. With the monsoon season approaching, the threat of dengue and malaria was becoming a reality. Water sources were contaminated. Shared temporary toilets were overwhelmed. Acute watery diarrhoea had already been reported in some areas.

WHO had responded with urgency, but the needs were immense. It had delivered 170 tonnes of emergency medical supplies, catering for the health care needs of 450,000 people, which would be sufficient for about three months. WHO had coordinated the deployment of 22 emergency medical teams to the earthquake affected areas. Ten of them were still on the ground.

WHO had also launched a targeted dengue prevention initiative in coordination with national and local partners. This included the distribution of over 4,500 rapid diagnostic test kits to frontline responders, 6.2 tonnes of Temephos for treating mosquito breeding sites, and 500 insecticide-treated tent nets to protect infants and children in the hardest-hit areas. It continued to work with local partners for delivery of essential care, trauma care, physical rehabilitation, mental health and psychosocial support, maternal and child health, and non-communicable diseases. But all these were of limited scale.

We were now at a critical juncture. Without urgent, sustained funding, the risk of a secondary health crisis would erupt. WHO was appealing for eight million United States dollars to continue operations, prevent disease outbreaks, and sustain the delivery of essential care in the immediate future.

The emergency was far from over. But the strength of Myanmar’s people was unwavering. This was apparent in the eyes of pregnant women rebuilding their shelter with their neighbours; in the voice of a father who had lost seven family members yet was showing up to support his community; and in the health workers who kept going because they were needed.

This was the face of resilience. This was the call to action.

We had a responsibility to match the strength of the people of Myanmar with the commitment of our own—not only to respond, but to restore. Not only to deliver relief, but to stand beside them on their road to recovery.

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva said United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher had yesterday referred to the new phase of the United Nations’ relief effort as a “humanitarian reset”, as humanitarians were finding ways to reach previously inaccessible areas, such as the areas in Sagaing hardest hit by the earthquake.

Progress in Protection and Integration of Displaced People in Colombia at Risk

William Spindler for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said many regions around the world were being affected by violence, and years of progress in protection and integration of displaced people were at risk because of the current funding crisis.

This was particularly the case in Colombia, which hosted more than seven million displaced persons, some three million Venezuelan refugees and migrants, and more than 500,000 Colombian returnees.

For years, the country had been a pillar of stability in the region, welcoming and regularising two million Venezuelan refugees and migrants and that work was ongoing, as were programmes to support the return of internally displaced persons, who were living in informal urban settlements, as Colombia did not have refugee camps. However, these programmes were now at risk due to funding cuts.

Recent violence in Catatumbo had led to 63,000 people being displaced. This was the largest incident of mass displacement in Colombia’s history, and the violence continued. Despite its humanitarian coordination role in the area, UNHCR had had to halt the distribution of basic relief items such as mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps, and mosquito nets, even though violence continued. Work to guarantee property rights and enable access to basic services like water, electricity and housing was at risk.

Some child protection services, which had benefited more than 17,000 children in 2024, had also had to be stopped, which put children at risk of being recruited by non-State armed groups. The documentation of over half a million Venezuelans was also at risk due to lack of funding.

UNHCR required 118.3 million United States dollars to continue its vital work in Colombia this year, but only 14 per cent of that amount had been secured thus far.

Read the full briefing note here.

In response to questions, Mr. Spindler said 7.7 million Venezuelans had left the country since 2015. Colombia had received the largest number of Venezuelans, but all countries in the region had received large numbers of migrants from Venezuela. The requirements for the UNHCR’s response for Venezuelan migrants was 1.4 billion United States dollars and less than five per cent of that target had been met.

The United States had been a major contributor to operations in Colombia and Latin America; it had been, by far, the largest contributor to operations in the Americas. Other donors had been generously providing support to Colombia, including Japan, Sweden, and Spain. UNHCR was reaching out to other donors and was in discussion with United States authorities, appealing for support for the future.

UNHCR, like many humanitarian agencies, had been severely affected by funding uncertainty. It had responded with drastic action, stopping a range of work in the field. The impact that the funding crisis was having on the people that UNHCR served was very concerning. UNHCR had been forced to reduce its staff at headquarters, regional bureaus and in the field. A review was ongoing in this regard. It would continue to work to respond to humanitarian emergencies and to find solutions for the people it served. It appealed to donors to continue funding its work, which had a vital and immediate impact around the world. It was not giving up, because millions of people depended on the organisation.

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said that the United Nations was always looking for additional sources of funding from generous donors to provide support to the people it served around the globe. The system was grossly underfunded and needed the funding now more than ever.

Measles Outbreak in the Americas

In response to questions on the measles outbreak in the Americas, Dr Margaret Harris for the World Health Organization (WHO) said the Pan American Health Organization’s Vaccination Week in the Americas started tomorrow. The region was facing a very difficult situation. It had reduced child mortality by more than 41 per cent through vaccination alone. However, we were now seeing a massive uptick in measles and yellow fever cases in six countries across the Americas. There had been 2,313 reported cases so far this year, leading to three deaths, with one other under investigation. In the comparable period last year, there were just 215 cases; this reflected a very large rise. Progress against preventable diseases needed a strong commitment and international cooperation. 

WHO was preparing disease outbreak news that would specifically address the situation in the United States and Canada. It was also hoping to announce tomorrow the end of the Ebola outbreak in Uganda, when 42 days would have passed since the last known case.

Announcements

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres would travel to Rome to attend the funeral of the late Pope Francis tomorrow afternoon. He had no bilateral meetings scheduled for tomorrow. The United Nations flag would be lowered next Tuesday, 29 April at all United Nations duty stations and offices to mark the passing of Pope Francis.

The Committee Against Torture (82nd session, 7 April–2 May, Palais Wilson) would conclude this afternoon its review of the report of Ukraine, begun yesterday morning

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (115th session, 22 April-9 May, Palais Wilson) would have this afternoon a public meeting devoted to a general discussion on reparations for the injustices from the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans.

The Universal Periodic Review under the Human Rights Council was starting its next session next Monday, 28 April, for two weeks until 9 May. Fourteen countries were being reviewed.

The United Nations Security Council was meeting from 4 p.m. Geneva time to discuss the situation in the Middle East. United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen would address the Council.

Today, Friday, 25 April at 12 p.m., the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions Secretariat was holding a press conference on the 2025 BRS Conventions Conference of the Parties (COPs).

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