UN News Today 28 September 2026 |

Worsening clashes in DR Congo hamper Ebola emergency response 

Aid teams trying to keep deadly Ebola disease from spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are increasingly worried about fighting and violence that’s forced thousands to flee a displacement camp caught up in the outbreak.

The alert follows reports that families fled Kigonze displacement camp in Bunia, northeast Ituri province in eastern DRC.

Soldiers had reportedly entered the site searching for weapons and people suspected of belonging to non-State armed groups. 

According to the Congolese authorities, the number of confirmed Ebola cases has passed 8,000 for the first time since the current outbreak began.

The latest situation report records 8,067 confirmed cases and 3,901 deaths, putting the case fatality rate at more than 48 per cent.

Securing humanitarian access to Kigonze camp remains difficult, raising fears that the exodus could complicate efforts to contain the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

Funding shortages threaten clean water access in Zaatari refugee camp

Support for water and sanitation at the biggest camp in the world for Syrian refugees is under threat from a lack of funding, combined with the impact of climate change, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Monday.

Zaatari refugee camp hosts more than 80,000 Syrians and well over half are children. 

According to the agency, unless investment comes soon, its water and sanitation services could stop in a matter of months.

Here’s UNICEF regional spokesperson Louise Wateridge:

“Many of the children around us have spent their entire lives in this refugee camp. For them, the risk of disruption to water and sanitation services will add yet another layer of instability to lives already shaped by war and displacement. Access to safe water and sanitation remains essential for children and families who remain here. Until they are able to return to Syria, these services are a lifeline.”

Ms. Wateridge warned that declining rainfall, a lack of groundwater and rising demand are placing too much pressure on the water system.

For the moment, the only solution is to bore ever-deeper wells, by between seven and 10 metres every year.

“We have to manage every cubic meter carefully and the plan further ahead,” the agency said. UNICEF noted that its programme is 90 per cent underfunded.

Planting trees is the cost-effective response to growing global challenges: FAO

An appeal now from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, to take more care of our forests as an all-natural way to lay down roots against the climate crisis and hunger.

An estimated 489 million hectares of forest were lost between 1990 and 2025 through deforestation, the agency says, while more than 460 million hectares of forest are now “degraded” worldwide.

Population growth, land-use change and rising demand for natural resources are among the reasons for this change.

In a new report, FAO insists that planting trees and restoring land will also help protect vital biodiversity and rural farming communities in support of sustainable development. 

One-third of the world’s population depends on trees and forests for food security and work.

The agency’s State of the World’s Forests (SOFO) 2026 report warns that action at scale will require greater investment and sustained political commitment from governments, if it’s to be successful.

Restoring more than one billion hectares of degraded land could generate $1.8 trillion per year in benefits, including better biodiversity, improved water courses and healthier soils. 

Daniel Johnson, UN News.

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