By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo UN agencies issued an urgent call for international action on Dec. 10 to end the ongoing attacks on hospitals, as Israeli forces battle Palestinian militants in the heart of the Gaza Strip. The regional directors of the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA), children’s agency UNICEF and health agency WHO, said they were “horrified” at latest reports which indicate many have been killed – including children – in facilities across Gaza city and other northern areas of the Strip. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society is reporting that the second largest hospita
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo Amid ongoing bombardment in the Gaza Strip, UN agencies and humanitarian partners continue to provide desperately needed food, water, healthcare and other services to the more than two million people living there. This Thursday (Dec. 7) marks two months since conflict erupted after Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and seizing more than 200 hostages, prompting Israel to launch a massive military operation in Gaza. Martin Griffiths, UN Humanitarian Coordinator and head of its emergency relief office, OCHA, on Thursday upheld the commitm
By Lee Kap-soo Deadly torrential rains and floods have affected more than two million people in several areas of Somalia, with over 100 killed and 750,000 displaced from their homes, the authorities and humanitarian partners said on Nov. 30 in the capital, Mogadishu. The crisis began with the start of the deyr rainy season in October and comes six months after the country emerged from a historic drought that brought it to the brink of widespread famine. “Recurrent climate shocks, widespread insecurity and rampant poverty have pushed the people of Somalia to the breaking point,” said George Con