News in Brief 8 December 2023 |

This is the News in Brief from the United Nations. 

Gaza humanitarian disaster heralds ‘breakdown’ of society

As intense Israeli bombardment of Gaza and fighting with Palestinian armed groups continued to impede aid operations, reports on the ground of children begging for water and people cutting down telephone poles for firewood, indicate that “society is about to break down”, UN humanitarians said on Friday.

The people of Gaza are being “forced into a horrible scenario” amid a “cruel campaign” by Israel against the population of the Strip in retaliation for Hamas’ terror attacks on 7 October, UN health agency WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said.

“The situation in Gaza is beyond belief. The health system is on its knees. Gaza cannot afford to lose any more health facilities, any single ambulance, any more hospitals.”

WHO has documented 212 attacks on health care in the Strip since 7 October affecting 56 healthcare facilities and 59 ambulances. The health workers in the enclave don’t have food or water, patients are bleeding on hospital floors and trauma wards “resemble battlefields”, Mr. Lindmeier said. 

Haiti humanitarian crisis deepens as country awaits support mission

As Haiti faces a situation of “absolute brutal violence”, the deployment of a multi-national security support mission is awaited with hope, the UN’s top humanitarian official in the country said on Friday.

Ulrika Richardson, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Haiti, who is also the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, told journalists in Geneva that 5.2 million Haitians need humanitarian assistance and over 4.3 million face acute food insecurity – that’s a staggering two out of five people in a country which used to be self-sufficient in terms of food production.

Frustratingly, the UN’s humanitarian response plan for the country is only 33 per cent funded as the year draws to a close, she said.

Gangs are in control of 80 per cent of the capital Port-au-Prince and the violence has been spreading to the neighbouring Artibonite department – Haiti’s breadbasket.

Overall, there are some 300 armed gangs in the country, Ms. Richardson said, and 2023 has already seen 8,000 killings, lynchings, kidnappings and cases of brutal rape.

The UN official stressed that most Haitians openly welcomed the expression of solidarity with their country in the form of Security Council resolution 2699 adopted last October to deploy a multinational security support mission to shore up Haiti’s National Police.

The are eagerly awaiting its arrival. 

The timing depended on a pending high court approval for the mission in Kenya, which had taken the lead and pledged 1,000 police officers to the new mission. 

Sudan: Conflict-shattered health system overwhelmed by disease outbreaks

To Sudan, where almost eight months of conflict have created a dire humanitarian crisis, forced some 6.8 million people out of their homes and brought the health system to its knees. 

UN health agency WHO representative in the country, Dr. Mohammad Taufiq Mashal, warned on Friday of the rapid spread of disease outbreaks amid mass displacement and a lack of healthcare access.

Within a month, cholera has spread from three to nine of Sudan’s states, he said, with over 5,400 suspected and confirmed cases and 170 deaths. Over 4,500 suspected measles cases and 104 deaths have been reported, along with over 6,000 cases of dengue and 56 related deaths.

Dr. Mashal stressed that insecurity and bureaucratic hurdles continue to limit humanitarian access across the country. The situation in Darfur is “especially concerning”, he said, as violence and a lack of essentials continue to force people to seek safety in neighbouring Chad.  

Dominika Tomaszewska-Mortimer, UN News.