Gaza Aid Crisis, Deadly Floods, Somalia Drought Worsens

Access to safe drinking water in Gaza has been severely compromised due to the ongoing war, extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, relentless displacementand severe restrictions on fuel and other supplies.

UN aid teams in Gaza say they are able to deliver less than half the lifesaving food support needed in the war-torn enclave.

In an alert from the World Food Programme (WFP), the agency said that half a million people “are on the brink of famine,” a claim backed by multiple humanitarian agencies. The latest data shows widespread acute malnutrition.

A ceasefire is the only way to scale up aid deliveries, the UN agency insisted. It explained that although teams are doing everything they can to deliver food assistance, only 47 per cent of the daily target amount is reaching the population.

Unless the fighting stops, organized aid distributions and WFP-supported hot meals and bakeries cannot restart, the agency stated.

The UN relief agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, reported on Monday that instead of preparing for the start of a new school year, children in Gaza are searching for water and queuing for food while their classrooms have “turned into crowded refuges.” Three years of schooling has now been lost, the agency stressed.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep sorrow at the tragic loss of life due to recent flash floods in India and Pakistan, with many still missing and forecasts showing the possibility of further flooding and landslides.

Indian rescue services responded to a deadly flood on Friday that reportedly killed at least 60 people after hitting a village in the Himalayas. In remote villages of northwestern Pakistan, torrents of water killed more than 300, according to reports. Hundreds were also injured, Pakistani authorities reported. Buner district was the worst hit, with more than 200 deaths reported, according to provincial disaster management authorities.

“The Secretary-General offers his sincere condolences to the victims’ families and stands in solidarity with those affected by this disaster,” said a statement issued by his Spokesperson.

UN country teams in India and Pakistan have been placed at the disposal of authorities, although no request for assistance has been made so far.

In Somalia, severe drought and funding cuts are undermining lifesaving assistance, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said on Monday.

Because of reduced support for aid work, food assistance has declined, health centres are closing, and malnutrition is high, the UN agency warned. OCHA said that 4.6 million people now face high levels of food insecurity, while two million more are at risk from funding cuts.

Without scaled-up support, “lives will be lost and progress reversed” across the East African nation, where cash shortfalls have left one million people without food assistance every month.

The global trend of declining humanitarian assistance has curtailed vital healthcare support across Somalia. So far this year, at least 150 medical facilities have been impacted, leaving hundreds of thousands of Somalis without medical care.

OCHA noted that because of the cuts, the number of people being targeted for assistance in Somalia has had to be reduced by a staggering 72 per cent.