UN Interviews

The fighting hasn’t stopped in Gaza but that hasn’t prevented tens of thousands of parents from making sure that their children are given the first of two polio vaccines.

The UN-led initiative inoculated 15,000 youngsters in one school-turned-shelter in central Deir Al-Balah on Monday, according to Louise Wateridge, a spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA.

Talking to Daniel Johnson from UN News on Monday, she described the challenge of rolling out the campaign where, to be successful, 90 per cent of Gaza’s children under 10 will need to be vaccinated – right now, and again in four weeks.

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Wednesday condemned Israel’s military escalation in the occupied West Bank, calling for attacks by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to stop, along with settler violence and the forcible transfer of Palestinians.

Ajith Sunghay, Head of OHCHR in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told UN News that as the situation deteriorates even further - against the backdrop of war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza - people live in fear”.

He told Abdelmonem Makki a large number of settlers are entering Palestinian communities in the West Bank to attack herders or farmers, and “we’re seeing more and more backing of the IDF of settlers”.

Civilians in Lebanon - particularly in the volatile south - are grappling with constant threats of violence, high levels of displacement and economic deprivation, as the standoff between Israel and Hezbollah militants continues in the shadow of the Gaza war.

Fadel Saleh, from the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) in Lebanon, told UN News that tens of thousands of people are unable to access basic services such as water facilities – while crucial civilian infrastructure such as markets and farms have been severely damaged amidst the cross-border exchange of fire.  

He told Khaled Mohamed any “uncontrolled conflict” that erupts could impact up to a million people, while “controlled conflict” will still affect 250,000, calling for a major increase in humanitarian funding for Lebanon. 

Acute malnutrition is rapidly increasing among young children in Government-controlled areas in Yemen, UN agencies and partners warned in a report published this week.

The ongoing conflict between Government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi rebels, is driving the surge, along with other factors such as economic collapse, displacement and social disruption.  

The report warned that all 117 districts in Government-controlled areas surveyed will experience “serious” levels of malnutrition or worse during the lean season from July to October.  The situation has been further compounded by recent flooding. 

To find out more, UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki spoke to Peter Hawkins, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative to Yemen, who spoke from the capital, Sana’a. 

The recent confirmation of famine at the Zamzam camp in Sudan is “also a canary in a coal mine”, the new Representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the country has warned.

Sheldon Yett said the situation is an indication that “terrible things” are happening there. He also recalled that food security experts report conditions are “equally bad” at more than a dozen other locations across the country, where rival militaries have been battling for more than a year.

Speaking from Port Sudan, Mr. Yett told UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki that despite access constraints, insecurity and other challenges, UNICEF and partners are bringing supplies to Zamzam camp “every day”, but not enough food is getting in.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners are preparing to launch a campaign this month to vaccinate thousands of children in Gaza against polio after the disease was detected in sewage samples in two locations.

Boys and girls caught in the war wonder when the fighting will end, said UNICEF communications officer Salim Owais, who spent eight days in the enclave.

Mr. Owais visited several hospitals where he met children suffering from various diseases and war injuries amid the ongoing lack of doctors, medicines and equipment. 

Speaking from Deir Al-Balah, he told UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki that “the picture is really grim in Gaza in general, but in a different way in hospitals.” 

The World Food Programme’s (WFP) Spokesperson in Sudan says the world “cannot give up hope” of averting widespread famine across the war-torn country, despite evidence of it spreading on the ground in Darfur and increasing problems accessing those in desperate need who are caught between rival armies.

Leni Kinzli told UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki that international action now could avert many deaths, including for around 90,000 facing catastrophic hunger in the devastated capital, Khartoum.

The UN continues to monitor fast-moving developments in Bangladesh after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country on Monday following weeks of student protests that left hundreds dead.

Young people took to the streets to demand an end to a quota system for civil servant jobs, which was later withdrawn.

To find out more about the crisis, UN News’s Anshu Sharma in Delhi spoke to the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, Gwyn Lewis, who said the mood in the country is hopeful, with “a sense of opportunity”.

Ms. Lewis also expressed hopes for a new interim government - which will reportedly be led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus - while noting the critical role the UN plays in issues such as bolstering constitutional justice and supporting institutional reform. 

The international community should act now to prevent widespread famine from taking hold in Sudan, the head of the UN humanitarian affairs office in the country said on Monday.

Justin Brady was speaking just days after experts confirmed famine was present in parts of North Darfur state following more than a year of war between the Sudanese Army and rival military, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

He told UN News’s Khaled Mohammed that although humanitarians are doing their best to support vulnerable people, “we need the resources, political leverage, and advocacy to make the parties come to the table and end this war.” 

With temperature records set month after month, more people globally find themselves working in warmer conditions.

Some 2.4 billion workers – over 70 per cent of the global workforce – are exposed to extreme heat while on the job, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The report shows that unlike in the 1950s, when heat exposure was a hazard in certain professions or sectors, today almost anybody can suffer heat stroke at work.

Balint Nafradi, occupational safety and hazard data expert at ILO, spoke to UN News’ Anton Uspensky about the report’s key findings and the laws that are being adopted based on the agency’s recommendations.

He also shared advice on how to work safely in the heat, including for athletes and staff at the Olympic Games in Paris.