HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC​,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 13 AUGUST 2025

SUDAN 
One year ago, in August 2024, famine was confirmed in Zamzam camp and has since spread to areas in Darfur and Kordofan. Currently, 17 areas are classified as ‘at risk of famine’ including parts of Darfur, the Nuba Mountains, Khartoum, and Gezira. 
Since then the situation, especially in El Fasher, has only gotten worse. 
Our colleagues at the World Food Programme today called for humanitarian access to El Fasher that is facing starvation and remains cut off from humanitarian assistance.  
WFP says that, as a coping mechanism, some residents are reportedly surviving on animal fodder and food waste.  
WFP continues to provide digital cash support to roughly a quarter-million people in the city, allowing them to buy the dwindling food left in the markets. However, the escalating needs make it imperative to address hunger at scale. 
We reiterate our concern about the ongoing conflict and renew our calls for all parties to end the violence, and resolve to dialogue and to put the interest of their people first. 

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY 
Turning to Gaza, we continue our efforts to bring in goods and fuel into the Strip. Updates from today’s movements are yet to come to us. But I can tell you that yesterday our teams collected food and fuel from the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings. While more than half of 15 missions coordinated with the Israeli authorities were facilitated, the remaining ones were either denied, impeded or cancelled. 
Meanwhile, the entry of goods has improved the market situation in terms of both prices and availability. For example, after peaking at 600 shekels per bag, that’s equivalent to about $175, in the past two weeks, the price of sugar has dropped to an average of 40 shekels, or $12. However, severe cash shortages are preventing families from being able to buy food, water and medicine. 
As a reminder, the amount of aid and goods that can be brought into Gaza does not meet the minimum requirements of people who are starving. A ceasefire is critically needed to reach all those in need, along with a sustained and scaled-up flow of aid. 
Today, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that eight people, including three children, died due to malnutrition and starvation over the past 24 hours. Such reports have become a daily occurrence, reflecting the deepening humanitarian crisis and the urgent need for sustained assistance. 
Today, the World Health Organization conducted a refresher training at the Rantissi Children’s Hospital help staff members stay current with new information, focusing on the inpatient management of malnutrition. Rantissi is one of the five nutrition stabilization centres in Gaza, and one of only two located in Gaza city.   
The recent surge in malnutrition cases among children has necessitated the establishment and scaling-up of these centres. 
So far this year, more than 340 children have been admitted for malnutrition treatment at these centres in Gaza – and this year, as of August 5th, 49 validated child deaths from malnutrition have been reported, including 39 children under the age of 5. 
Data collected by ourselves and our partners from over 900 households across Gaza in July indicated continuous trauma leading to mental health issues, including anxiety and depression. Many people are living in informal shelters that are overcrowded, unsafe and lack space and privacy, especially for women and children. 
Care staff themselves are traumatized, and today, partners working on protection started providing mental health and psychosocial support for their teams in Gaza.    
OCHA reminds us that shelter items are a priority, as supplies have run out, leaving people exposed to the summer heat and with nothing to protect them when winter comes. Many tents and tarpaulins need to be replaced, as they will not be able to withstand the elements. 
Meanwhile, households continue to report poor sanitation and lack of clean water. In southern Gaza, the Israeli-supplied water pipeline has been damaged for almost a week now, impacting water supply for thousands of people in the area. 

SYRIA 
Moving to Syria. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that the recent violence in Sweida has left a heavy toll on the community there. At least 22 children were killed and 21 more were injured.  
During the violence in July and early August, vital infrastructure such as water and electricity networks were reportedly critically damaged. At least five health centres were under attack back in July, with two physicians killed, and ambulances obstructed, that’s according to the World Health Organization. 
To address these issues, UNICEF has recently deployed fourteen mobile health and nutrition teams and provided health supplies and nutrition supplies to more than 4,000 children and women, safe drinking water and fuel for water pumping stations benefiting more than 30,000 people.   
During the violence, more than 190,000 people, mainly women and children, were forced to flee their homes. We underscore that in order to assist those in need, and ensure an effective response, it is critical that humanitarians and commercial goods have unhindered access to the most impacted communities there. 
 
 
SRI LANKA  
A report published today by the UN Human Rights Office calls on Sri Lanka’s Government to seize the historic opportunity to break with entrenched impunity and implement transformative reforms. The report also calls for the Government to deliver long-overdue justice and accountability for serious violations and abuses committed in the past, including international crimes.  
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk noted that today, an opportunity presents itself for Sri Lanka to break from the past, with the leadership pledging a fresh direction on long-standing issues. He emphasized that this process should start with a clear and formal acknowledgment of the violations, abuses and crimes that occurred, including during the civil war.  
The report comes shortly after the High Commissioner’s official visit to the country, where he engaged with the Government, civil society, victims’ groups, political parties and religious leaders.
 
GUEST TOMORROW 
Tomorrow, noon briefing guest will be Susan Jane Ferguson, who is the UN Women Representative in Afghanistan. 
She will join virtually to discuss the four-year mark of the Taliban takeover.