This is a summary of what was said by Â鶹ÊÓƵ Regional Director in Latin America and the Caribbean, Lola Castro, to whom quoted text may be attributed ¨C at the UN Noon Briefing in New York today
NEW YORK/ PANAMA CITY: As the United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ Regional Coordinator in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2021, I have frequently visited Haiti over the past four years.
MAPUTO ¨C The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) welcomes a generous contribution of EUR 500,000 from the Government of Finland to provide tens of thousands of children with daily hot meals as part of Mozambique¡¯s ongoing National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (PRONAE).
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania ¨C A high level joint mission of the European Parliament Committee on Development (DEVE) and the UN Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) concluded today, reaffirming their shared commitment to scale up investments in resilience and development efforts to respond to the rising humanitarian needs in Mauritania.
Hordes of hungry people broke into Â鶹ÊÓƵ's Al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, Central Gaza, in search of food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution.
BRIDGETOWN ¨C The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ today joined the Government of Barbados and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to inaugurate the Caribbean¡¯s newest disaster preparedness and response hub.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 27, 2025) ¡ª On the heels of World Football Day, the Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) has named Jozy Altidore, renowned Haitian-American professional soccer player and philanthropist, as its newest High-Level Supporter. In this role, Altidore will work to raise awareness and funds for Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s emergency food assistance and nutrition programs around the world, including Haiti, his parents¡¯ homeland.
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo ¨C The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) warned today that the sheer scale of people being displaced from their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to escalating conflict, is pushing food insecurity to crisis proportions and deepening an already strained humanitarian response both internally and across the region.
GAZA, Palestine - 15 Â鶹ÊÓƵ trucks were looted late last night in Southern Gaza, while en route to Â鶹ÊÓƵ-supported bakeries. These trucks were transporting critical food supplies for hungry populations waiting anxiously for assistance.
NAIROBI ¨C The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) today warned that refugees in Kenya are at risk of heightened levels of food insecurity as critical funding shortages force the agency to reduce food assistance to the lowest levels ever recorded.
DHAKA ¨C The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), has donated 667 metric tonnes of dates to the United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) to support Rohingya refugee children living in Bangladesh.
GAZA, Palestine ¨C A handful of bakeries in south and central Gaza, supported by the United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ), have resumed bread production after dozens of trucks were finally able to collect cargo from the Kerem Shalom border crossing and deliver it overnight.
JUBA ¨C The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) has reached more than 6,000 vulnerable mothers and children in flood-affected Bentiu, Unity State, with lifesaving nutrition assistance, thanks to generous funding from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief).
In 2024, over 295 million people across 53 countries and territories faced acute hunger¡ªan increase of almost 14 million people compared to 2023¡ª while the number of people facing catastrophic levels of hunger reached a record high
BISHKEK ¨C The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) and the Government of the People¡¯s Republic of China, through the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), will provide nutritious school meals to more than 100,000 children in the Kyrgyz Republic. This marks CIDCA¡¯s first multilateral initiative in the country and in Central Asia through its Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund.
Harare, Zimbabwe ¨C The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalise their collaboration on integrating food and nutrition assistance with sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) and gender-based violence (GBV) services, in Zimbabwe.
ROME/NEW YORK ¨C Populations across the Gaza Strip are at risk of famine as fighting has surged again, border crossings are still closed, and food is dangerously scarce. Hunger and malnutrition have intensified sharply since all aid was blocked from entering on 2 March, reversing the clear humanitarian gains seen during the ceasefire earlier this year.
DAKAR, Senegal ¨C The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) sounded the alarm today as persistent conflict, displacement, economic deterioration, and recurrent extreme weather in West and Central Africa are driving millions of people towards emergency levels of hunger (IPC4).
Juba - More than 60,000 malnourished children in South Sudan¡¯s Upper Nile state are at risk of plunging deeper into malnutrition as treatment supplies run critically low and resupply efforts are hampered, the United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) and UNICEF warned today.
CHI?IN?U - The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) has welcomed a generous contribution of €1.5 million from the European Union. This crucial humanitarian funding will enable Â鶹ÊÓƵ to continue providing vital assistance to Ukrainian refugees in the Refugee Accommodation Centres through hot meals provision, and to refugee host families through cash assistance. The contribution will also support efforts to strengthen the country's national social protection system to better assist the most vulnerable.
KABUL ¨C H.E. Takayoshi Kuromiya, Japanese Ambassador to Afghanistan, and Mutinta Chimuka, acting Â鶹ÊÓƵ Country Director in Afghanistan, visited a malnutrition clinic in the country¡¯s capital Kabul, where hundreds of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and their children receive life-saving nutrition services. The visit highlights Japan¡¯s strong and steadfast commitment to Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s operations in Afghanistan, where nearly one third of the population is in need of emergency food assistance.
Yerevan, ARMENIA ¨C The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) and the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) are joining forces to improve food security in Armenia through better water management. An agreement for the ¡°Capacity Strengthening of Water Users Associations of Armenia¡± initiative has been signed with the Government of Armenia, represented by the Armenian Territorial Development Fund (ATDF). The initiative aims to strengthen food security, reduce reliance on assistance, and build community resilience in Armenia.
BRIDGETOWN ¨C Building on the successful deployment of critical relief supplies in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl that hit the Caribbean last year, the United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) continue their collaboration to boost preparedness for large-scale disasters in the Caribbean.
KABUL ¨C The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) in Afghanistan welcomes a contribution of EUR 1 million from the Government of France in flexible funding which has been programmed towards Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s resilience projects.
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA ¨C The Royal Government of Cambodia, through the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS), in partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ), has launched a US$ 10 million initiative from 2025 to 2029 to accelerate the expansion of Cambodia¡¯s national homegrown school feeding programme.
MOGADISHU ¨C The United Nations Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) has welcomed a contribution of 138 metric tons of nutritious dates from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) that will be included in the emergency food baskets provided to the most vulnerable people in Somalia.
