Today’s top news: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nepal, Sudan, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon

#Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ebola response a race against time, UN aid chief warns

Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, stressed today that we cannot respond incrementally to an epidemic which is now growing exponentially. 

Speaking to Member States, Fletcher called for a sustained, large-scale operation that gets ahead of the Ebola virus.

He said that we cannot fight Ebola in isolation: people need functioning health services, clean water, sanitation, food, protection and livelihoods. Above all, they need trust.

Fletcher noted that time is not on our side, but the UN and partners have the experience, the tools, and extraordinary people risking their lives to stop this epidemic. What is needed now is political will, access, and resources. He said We have beaten Ebola before. And we can do it again.

Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is driving fresh displacement and complicating efforts to respond to the Ebola outbreak.

In the province of Ituri, local civil society sources say that at least 37 civilians were killed and more than 35 people abducted during armed attacks in the territory of Mambasa on 29 August. The violence triggered new displacement from several villages, and at least 86 civilians have been killed in attacks across the territory in August. 

In neighbouring South Kivu province, partners report that clashes in the territory of Walungu have displaced at least 15,000 people since 23 August. Most of those displaced are sheltering with host families and need food, shelter and healthcare. Meanwhile, active fighting in parts of North Kivu province continues to force people to flee their homes.

These developments are unfolding in provinces affected by the Ebola outbreak. As of 30 August, national health authorities had reported more than 6,100 confirmed cases and nearly 2,950 deaths.

Insecurity and the movement of people continue to hamper surveillance and response efforts.

Despite these challenges, the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to support the authorities’ response. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has conducted nearly 23 million health screenings in the DRC and neighbouring countries, helping to monitor people’s movements, detect potential cases and reduce the risk of transmission across borders.

The UN reiterates its call on all parties to protect civilians and facilitate safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access. Maintaining access to communities affected by the outbreak remains critical for delivering life-saving assistance and supporting efforts to bring Ebola under control.

#Nepal

Relief efforts intensify as scale of flood disaster emerges

OCHA says the response to last week’s flash floods in Nepal is entering a new phase, with authorities intensifying relief efforts and recovery operations.

As of today, authorities have recovered 1,003 bodies, while nearly 3,900 people remain unaccounted for. Nearly 12,000 have been rescued so far.

For thousands of affected families, the priority is now receiving humanitarian assistance, recovering and identifying the remains of the loved ones, tracing missing relatives and reunifying separated children, and accessing psychosocial support.

The UN says it is getting a clearer picture of displacement. Nearly 3,500 people are now living in 27 sites across the districts of Nuwakot and Rasuwa, most of them in schools, disrupting education.

Humanitarian colleagues report that the main challenge right now is access. More than 40 bridges have been destroyed and sections of the main highway remain blocked. The most remote communities continue to rely on army helicopter flights for supplies.

OCHA is also concerned about growing public health risks. Overcrowded shelters, contaminated water and damaged health facilities are putting people – especially women and children – at greater risk of disease in the middle of the monsoon season.

The UN and its humanitarian partners continue to support the Government-led response. Yesterday, colleagues from OCHA, the Resident Coordinator’s Office and the World Food Programme (WFP) travelled to the town of Bidur, in Nuwakot, to meet district authorities and visit displacement sites. Partners are working to establish a coordination hub there so assistance reaches the communities most in need.

WFP has dispatched nearly 80 metric tons of food, reached more than 9,000 people and has supplies available for another 5,000 families. UNICEF is procuring 10,000 cartons of therapeutic food. Eight health teams have reached more than 1,200 people in displacement sites. More than 1,800 people, including hundreds of children, have received psychological first aid, and a 24-hour mental health helpline is up and running. The World Health Organization is supporting disease surveillance efforts in the two hardest-hit districts.

The Government of Nepal and the UN Resident Coordinator, Lila Pieters Yahia, have agreed to launch a four-month Humanitarian Flash Appeal on Friday. The appeal will support the Government-led response and focus on mobilizing resources to save lives, deliver urgent humanitarian assistance and address the most critical needs of communities affected by the floods.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Nepal and beyond with urgent support.

#Sudan

Humanitarians step up cholera response amid conflict, rising needs

OCHA reports that despite active conflict and funding shortfalls, humanitarian organizations continue to deliver life-saving assistance across Sudan.

From January to July, the UN and humanitarian partners reached 12.3 million people across Sudan with at least one form of assistance. 

However, just 2.2 million people – or 18 per cent of those reached – received assistance across multiple sectors, underscoring the impact of underfunding and other challenges on efforts to reach people with the full range of support they need.

Meanwhile, the UN and partners are stepping up efforts to tackle cholera as the rainy season continues. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 2,600 cases had been reported by early August across multiple states, with the Kordofan region at the epicentre.

Health workers continue to provide treatment, conduct vaccination campaigns and distribute essential medical supplies. Tragically, WHO reports that a vaccinator was killed in an attack on a market in West Kordofan State on Saturday, while searching for her son among casualties from an earlier attack.

Meanwhile, humanitarians are scaling up efforts to provide clean water. In Kordofan State, a water system rehabilitated with UNICEF support in Abu Jubayhah is now providing safe water to 25,000 people every day, including 5,000 displaced people.

At the same time, insecurity continues to drive displacement, including in the Kordofan region. IOM reports that some 730 people fled several villages in Abassiya locality, South Kordofan, on Sunday. They sought safety elsewhere in Abassiya and in Um Rawaba locality in neighbouring North Kordofan.

OCHA once again calls on all parties to protect civilians, including health and humanitarian workers, and to facilitate rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access.

The UN continues to appeal for additional funding. This year’s humanitarian appeal for Sudan remains 41 per cent funded, with about $1.2 billion received against the nearly $2.9 billion required.

#Occupied Palestinian Territory

Senior UN official calls for more aid, access as Gaza braces for winter

The Humanitarian Coordinator, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, today started a three-day visit to the Gaza Strip.

In Gaza city, he visited a field hospital – operated by International Medical Corps – which regularly treats casualties as air strikes and other military attacks continue to affect populated areas. Dr. Alakbarov also visited a public market where the prices of some basic commodities remain unaffordable for families in Gaza.

Earlier, in Khan Younis, he visited a makeshift displacement site which will be at high risk of flooding once the rainy season begins. The Humanitarian Coordinator spoke with displaced families living there, as well as our humanitarian partners leading on displacement site management and also providing water, sanitation and hygiene services.

In Deir al Balah, he visited a desalination plant that could become difficult to access when the rains start again, due to water accumulation in the area.

Dr. Alakbarov said that preparing for the rains is an urgent priority. He called on donors to increase their support and on the Israeli authorities to ease restrictions hampering humanitarian operations. He stressed that while aid agencies are ready to deliver, many more tents are needed, along with equipment, spare parts and engine oil – all of which are critical to help protect people from flooding, hypothermia and disease during the winter months.

The Humanitarian Coordinator also noted that expanding access to areas currently off-limits would create additional shelter options for displaced people, including in locations that are less vulnerable to flooding.

Dr. Alakbarov, who is also the Special Coordinator ad interim and the Resident Coordinator, also visited the archaeological site of Saint Hilarion Monastery, which is on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage in Danger.

Meanwhile, in a social media post today, UNICEF reported that the agency and its partners are working to get the Sheikh Ajleen sewage treatment facility up and running again. Before it was damaged in hostilities, it served 700,000 people in southern Gaza.

To put this in context, partners leading on sanitation say that all six wastewater treatment plants in Gaza have shut down as a result of hostilities, and 70 per cent of sewage pumping stations are out of service. Every day, more than 150,000 cubic metres of untreated wastewater is discharged into the environment, increasing the risks of disease and contamination.

Meanwhile, yesterday, a temporary halt to desalination in Israel reduced the water available to about 1 million people in Gaza who rely on the Israeli grid. Our partners are using alternative sources to offset the gap until the problem is resolved.

Turning to the West Bank, the World Food Programme reports that funding shortfalls are forcing them to cut food assistance by half – this happens as food needs in the West Bank have more than doubled since 2023. 

WFP said that today, an estimated 900,000 people are food insecure in the West Bank – with increased settler violence and displacement disrupting livelihoods, deepening hunger, and pushing families further into crisis. To date, the agency has reached 400,000 of the most vulnerable people with assistance. This will be scaled back to 200,000 starting this month.

#Lebanon

Access challenges hamper humanitarian aid delivery

OCHA reports that humanitarian access remains severely restricted in parts of Southern Lebanon, particularly south of the Litani River.

Since the end of July, humanitarian organisations have faced major obstacles in reaching communities in and around the IDF-declared military area, where some 46,400 people live.

Access to frontline villages is particularly difficult, with physical barriers restricting movement. This is making it harder to assess needs, deliver aid, repair critical infrastructure and restore essential services.

Despite these constraints, our humanitarian partners continue to reach communities wherever they can. Since the escalation began on 2 March, nearly 600 humanitarian movements have been facilitated through the Humanitarian Notification System.

OCHA continues to call for safe, timely and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need, wherever they are. Humanitarians must be able to move safely and carry out their work in accordance with humanitarian principles.