UN Noon Briefing: Humanitarian Crisis, Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan & More (August 7, 2025)

Dire Humanitarian Funding Landscape

• 🚨 The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that less than 17% of the $46 billion required for global humanitarian needs in 2025 has been received, a 40% drop from the previous year.
• ⚠️ This severe funding shortfall means millions of vulnerable people will not receive essential aid, forcing humanitarian partners to operate with significantly fewer resources.
• 🎯 In response to deep funding cuts, OCHA launched a hyper-prioritized global appeal in June to target the most urgent needs for 114 million people.

Escalating Crisis in Gaza

• 💔 Starvation and malnutrition, particularly among children, are deepening in Gaza, with acute malnutrition reaching record levels.
• 📈 In July, nearly 12,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished, with the proportion of those suffering from severe acute malnutrition rising.
• 🚧 Humanitarian access constraints are exacerbating the crisis, with only 3% of children needing feeding and micronutrient supplements reached in July due to a severe shortage of supplies.
• 🏠 Over 1 million shelter items are stranded outside Gaza, and no shelter materials have entered since March, leading to overcrowded, unsafe, and undignified living conditions for most families.
• 🚚 Despite a tactical pause, aid convoys continue to face impediments, with missions taking hours to complete and fuel supplies remaining critically limited.

Situation in Lebanon and West Africa

• 🕊️ UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon continue to monitor military activities, with Israeli airstrikes resulting in fatalities, including a child.
• 🔍 A major operation uncovered unauthorized weapon caches, including seven fortified tunnels, artillery, rocket launchers, and hundreds of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
• ⚠️ In West Africa and the Sahel, terrorist activity has surged, compounding an already dire humanitarian situation exacerbated by climate change.
• ⚖️ Progress has been made on women, peace, and security agendas, but gaps remain, with calls for women's full, equal, and meaningful participation in peace efforts.

Deteriorating Conditions in Sudan and Afghanistan

• 🆘 The humanitarian situation in Sudan continues to deteriorate, with people trapped, displaced, or returning to ruins, facing immense suffering and food shortages.
• 📈 In El Fasher, residents are resorting to eating animal feed due to extreme costs and lack of aid, with thousands facing starvation.
• 🦠 Humanitarian partners are scaling up responses to a cholera outbreak in Blue Nile state, where cases have surged significantly.
• 🌍 Afghanistan faces one of the largest return movements in history, with over 4 million Afghans returning since September 2023, straining existing systems and putting millions at risk.
• ⚠️ Returning women and girls face increased risks of poverty, early marriage, violence, exploitation, and restrictions on their rights and freedoms.

Global Political and Economic Commentary

• 🤝 The UN welcomes efforts aimed at bringing about peace in Ukraine in line with the UN Charter and international law.
• 📉 The Secretary-General believes that trade wars are ruinous and must be avoided, emphasizing the need to protect vulnerable sectors of society.
• 🚫 The UN stands firmly against any escalation of the conflict in Gaza, warning of catastrophic humanitarian suffering and potential starvation.
• ⚖️ The UN reiterates that the occupation of occupied territories cannot continue and is not accepted under international law.
• 💰 The global humanitarian funding shortfall is not caused by any single government, but by a combination of factors including donor fatigue.
• 🤝 The UN welcomes any efforts to raise awareness for aid to reach civilians in Gaza, emphasizing the principles of neutrality, impartiality, independence, and humanity.