UN News Today 20 February 2026 |

Ukraine’s women at breaking point after four years of war, UN warns 

Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the country’s women are bearing the brunt of relentless attacks on energy and health infrastructure, UN humanitarians warned on Friday. 

UN Women’s chief of humanitarian action, Sofia Calltorp, said that with 65 per cent of Ukraine’s energy generation capacity destroyed, blackouts have become a direct threat to women’s safety, livelihoods and well-being.  

Here she is, speaking in Geneva:  

“Since 24 February 2022, more than 5,000 women and girls have been killed and 14,000injured, with 2025 being the deadliest year yet and the real toll likely far higher. With 65 percent of the country’s energy generation capacity destroyed by deliberate attacks, families are left without heating, electricity and reliable shelter, especially during those brutal winter conditions.” 

According to Ms. Calltorp, extended darkness and the lack of transport have severely restricted women’s mobility and increased their exposure to harassment and accidents.  

Many women, employed in sectors hit hardest by power cuts such as education, healthcare and social services, are losing jobs and income. 

Despite the challenges, women-led organizations remain at the heart of the humanitarian response — providing protection, psychosocial aid and livelihoods support — but face existential threats due to funding cuts.  

UN Women’s representative in Ukraine, Sabine Freizer Gunes, warned that weakening women’s organisations at this critical moment risks weakening the entire humanitarian and recovery framework of Ukraine. 

Additionally, the UN health agency (WHO) spokesperson, Christian Lindmeier underlined that beyond the statistics, lies a much deeper human story of suffering and resilience. 

Child trafficking by gangs threatens Haiti’s future, UN warns 

A new UN report has revealed that most of the 26 gangs operating in Haiti are involved in child trafficking, warning that the crisis threatens the country’s future. 

The report documented how children are exploited for errands, extortion, surveillance, kidnappings, killings and sexual violence.  

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said the trafficking is robbing Haiti’s children of their childhoods and stability. 

In 2024, the UN estimated that over 500,000 children lived in gang-controlled areas, with more than 1.4 million people now displaced — half of them children. Poverty, weak institutions and armed violence have created conditions where children are easily lured or coerced by gangs. 

The report calls for stronger social protection, education, youth employment, rehabilitation and accountability measures.

Mr. Türk stressed that Haiti’s new Gang Suppression Force must respect children’s rights and that enforcing the UN arms embargo is vital to ending the cycle of violence.

Somalia: WFP warns life-saving food aid could stop within weeks 

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that its emergency food and nutrition assistance in Somalia could halt within weeks without urgent new funding.  

The alert comes after the government declared a national drought emergency amid severe water shortages, failed crops, livestock deaths and mass displacement. 

Somalia faces one of its worst hunger crises in years, driven by consecutive failed rainy seasons, conflict and declining humanitarian aid. Around 4.4 million people — one in four Somalis — are facing crisis-level food insecurity or worse, including nearly one million experiencing severe hunger. 

Ross Smith, WFP’s Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, said the situation is deteriorating rapidly and families are being pushed to the brink.  

He warned that without immediate action, WFP may be unable to reach those most in need, particularly women and children. 

WFP, Somalia’s largest humanitarian agency, has already cut food assistance from 2.2 million people in early 2025 to just over 600,000, and nutrition support to women and children by more than three-quarters. 

Without new funding, WFP says assistance could cease entirely by April, risking a preventable humanitarian catastrophe. 

Charlotte Frantz, UN News.