The principle is simple: give what you can – whether it’s one meal or one year of meals – and know that it makes a difference. In US dollars, a meal supplied by the WFP costs around 80 cents – less than the price of a cup of coffee. By July, the official donation app of WFP reached a milestone: 150 million meals served – welcome news as WFP responds to the record hunger of 2022. This year WFP aims to reach 152 million people and is calling for US$22.2 billion to do so – with as many as 828 million people around the world who go to bed hungry every night, every penny counts.

Over the past year, parts of Afghanistan have become safer, but the country is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis. Here are five things to know about Afghanistan and how UNHCR is trying to help.

IMO welcomed the signing of an initiative to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor to allow ships to export critical cargoes of grain and foodstuffs from Ukraine.

At a time when at least one in three children aged under 5 is affected by malnutrition, breastfeeding remains a critical way to help babies and young children meet their nutritional needs. In responding to a global hunger crisis in a year of unprecedented needs, the World Food Programme supports breastfeeding across the world, supplying pregnant and breastfeeding women with specialized nutritious foods to prevent and treat malnutrition. WFP provides nutrition training to mothers and their communities on what is very literally a lifeline – breastfeeding helps to provide immunity against diseases, serving children well beyond their earliest days.

“We tried to flee on the back of a truck, but they caught us. They took me away, raped me and left me in the bush.” Mahlet* was just 17 when she fled her home in November 2021 to escape the conflict raging in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. 

“What is keeping me awake at night is the horror of knowing that it hasn't ended yet and that there are more people alive today that are very likely to be dead tomorrow.”

Osnat Lubrani knows first-hand the horrors of war. As UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, she has witnessed the dramatic changes since the Russian invasion and rapidly mounting needs as the war tears lives apart across the country. At least 15.7 million Ukrainians are now in urgent need of humanitarian aid, with the UN working to expand existing programs and establish new life-saving operations. Yet access to some of the most vulnerable is proving extremely problematic. In this episode, Osnat Lubrani reflects on the frustrating battle to reach them, what it feels like to receive distressing cries for help, and what gives her hope when all seems lost.

Photo: ©Osnat Lubrani

Moored off Yemen’s Red Sea coast, the FSO Safer is an aging supertanker in advanced state of decay that will soon break apart or explode if the world does not act.  The United Nations is ready to implement an emergency operation to prevent this disaster. But the work to transfer the oil to a safe vessel is already delayed because of insufficient funding. To bridge the funding gap and start the emergency operation, the United Nations is asking for contributions from members of the public. Donate now

During his two-day visit to Niger in May, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, saw first-hand the country’s complex and growing humanitarian crisis. Persistent insecurity in Niger has taken a toll on education; 800 schools have closed nationwide, affecting 69,443 students, including 33,546 girls. OCHA supports projects to ensure access to education for about 7,410 children by building 25 classrooms and training 132 teachers in the Tillabéri region.

24 February 2022 marked a devastating day for the people of Ukraine – and the world. Despite the chaos of war, the country’s State Emergency Service immediately sprang into action, with over 70,000 personnel helping to rescue people from under rubble and from fires caused by daily shelling and evacuating people to safer locations. UNDP quickly transitioned to help meet emergency needs – by contributing protection and firefighting equipment, generators for emergency power, food supplies and specialized tools for removing debris.

Two decades ago, Jean Nkeramihigo and Francine Kanyana moved to the commune of Vumbi, in Kirundo, Burundi, in search of land so they could start their own farm and bring up a family. Twenty years later, the couple's life is different from what they hoped for due to climate change. Like other vulnerable families in Kirundo, Jean, Francine and their 12 children rely on humanitarian assistance and paid labour to survive, sometimes with only one meal per day. The couple were among the 40,000 vulnerable people assisted in April 2022 by WFP to help them to meet their basic food needs. 

As the war in Ukraine pushes food, fuel and fertilizer prices toward record levels putting food security in many of the world’s poorest countries at risk, IFAD launches a Crisis Response Initiative to ensure that small-scale farmers in high-risk countries can produce food over the next few months to feed their families and communities while reducing the threat to future harvests. IFAD is calling on its Member States to contribute to the significant resources required to cover all 22 countries listed in the Initiative as priorities based on measures of need.

The war in Ukraine is inflicting immense human suffering and devastating communities. UNDP teams are on the ground, working in partnership with the Government of Ukraine to save lives and support relief efforts. But the needs are rapidly increasing. The government says at least US$100 billion of buildings, roads, bridges, hospitals, schools have been destroyed. The war has caused half the country’s businesses to shut completely, while the other half are struggling. A prolonged conflict could push nine out of 10 of Ukrainians into poverty or near poverty.

People in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands are facing one of the most acute droughts they have ever endured. The dire situation—also ravaging communities across Ethiopia and Somalia—is forcing families to take desperate measures to survive. Hunger, displacement, disease outbreaks, conflict over scarce resources, and increased abuse and exploitation of children and women are just some of the consequences of this fast-deteriorating humanitarian crisis. UN OCHA in Kenya ramps up their response to support people affected by the drought.

Valentina Ejova breathed a sigh of relief only when she crossed the border. In both Ukraine and neighbouring countries hosting refugees, UNFPA is distributing dignity kits among other services.

For the third year in a row, Yemen is the country needing the most humanitarian funding support in the world. Of the 20.7 million people needing assistance, 12 million are in acute need. Though last year’s $100 million humanitarian appeal was only half funded, UNFPA reached nearly 2.8 million people with reproductive health services and emergency relief.  Without additional funding, nearly 1.3 million women will be left without access to reproductive health care and protection and psychosocial support.