How can people be best supported during humanitarian crises with limited aid budgets and what can be done to help those same people break out of the cycle of dependency caused by multiple crises and move towards more sustainable development?

The UN independent human rights expert on Somalia on Thursday called on authorities to step up efforts to address the country’s complex and serious security challenges.

‘Meaningful participation’ and ‘inclusion’ were the buzzwords at the opening on Thursday of a major UN conference in Nairobi, Kenya, where governments were urged to heed the diverse voices of civil society, which were well-placed to work alongside them in building a fairer and more just future.

“Unprecedented and devastating” flooding in East Africa has triggered widespread displacement with hundreds of thousands forced from their homes in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia and Tanzania, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday. 

The ongoing conflict between rival militaries in Sudan has stalled progress towards the determination of the final status of the disputed oil-rich Abyei region which straddles the Sudan-South Sudan border, the head of UN peacekeeping operations said on Tuesday.

The UN’s second Trailblazer award for Women Justice and Corrections Officers has gone to Major Ahlem Douzi, an officer with the UN’s peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Cocaine, cannabis and opioids are getting easier to buy as criminal networks and armed groups capitalise on the fragile Sahel region’s “natural stopover point” to Europe on trafficking routes from South America, but authorities with help from the UN are taking down criminal networks and making a record number of seizures of illicit drugs.

Some of the poorest women in an underdeveloped region south of Madagascar are “too ashamed” to seek the maternal health services they need, according to a midwife working in a health centre supported by United Nations agencies, but that may be about to change.

UN agencies issued a joint warning on Friday that time is running out to prevent starvation in Sudan’s Darfur region due to intensifying clashes around the northern capital of El Fasher, which are hindering efforts to deliver lifesaving aid.

The United Nations and partners continue to support authorities across East Africa as the region braces for more of the heavy rains and severe flooding that have reportedly killed upwards of 350 people since March.

The ongoing year-long war in Sudan continues to spread across the country, and now El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, is surrounded by armed fighters amid the systematic burning of entire villages, escalating air strikes and blocked aid deliveries.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated the UN’s continued commitment to Kenya in the wake of deadly floods caused by weeks of heavy rains that continue to affect the region.

The UN’s top humanitarian official in South Sudan has urged the government to lift newly imposed taxes and charges that are causing aid deliveries to be suspended, affecting tens of thousands of people.

UN Security Council members on Saturday called on the warring parties in Sudan to immediately halt the military build-up and take steps to de-escalate the situation in El Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur.

Escalating violence in Sudan’s North Darfur state has left dozens dead and people trapped in El Fasher city, which is home to around 800,000 people, many displaced due to fighting. 

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday raised alarm over the situation in northern Burkina Faso, where several hundred civilians, including children, were reportedly killed amidst fighting between security forces and armed groups.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is offering medical care, food, shelter and psychosocial support to 33 migrants who survived a shipwreck off the coast of Djibouti on Monday, as local authorities continue search and rescue operations. 

The year-long ongoing war in Sudan is “a crisis of epic proportions”, and the world must rethink the way it supports the Sudanese people amid rampant atrocities against civilians and no end in sight, top UN and African Union officials warned the Security Council on Friday.

Tuesday marked the opening of the third session of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, bringing together anti-racism activists, human rights defenders, government delegations and others. 

Ethiopia’s international partners convened in Geneva on Tuesday to address the urgent need for increased humanitarian funding for the crisis-hit country, pledging a total of almost $630 million.

Efforts to foster dialogue and address the concerns of Libyan politicians are being met with “stubborn resistance, unreasonable expectations and indifference” on their part, contrary to the national interest, the UN envoy to the North African nation said on Tuesday.

“The world is forgetting about the people of Sudan” the UN chief warned on Monday, calling for a boost in humanitarian funding and a global push for peace to end a year of brutal fighting between rival militaries.

A full year of conflict in Sudan has already caused immense suffering and death but the situation could easily worsen with the news that the warring parties are arming civilians, UN rights chief Volker Türk said on Monday.

Rape. Murder. Hunger. Corpses filling streets, making it impossible to walk. Sudan was plunged into an ongoing, devastating war one year ago on 15 April, leaving in its wake almost 15,000 dead, eight million civilians on the run, 25 million in dire need of assistance and warnings from humanitarians about famine, aid blockades and a growing list of atrocities on all sides.

Nigeria has become the first country to roll out a “revolutionary” five-in-one vaccine against meningitis, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement on Friday.  

The UN renewed its commitment to never forget the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda during a candle lighting ceremony on Friday to mark 30 years since the horrific events there unfolded. 

Almost 55 million people are facing further food and nutrition insecurity in West and Central Africa during the region’s three-month lean season from June through August, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.

Over 8.5 million Sudanese have been forced to flee their homes in Sudan since the war between rival militaries erupted last April, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.

When the Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda began in April 1994 Eric Eugene Murangwa was a footballer at one of the country’s top clubs. Although he is a Tutsi, he was protected by a member of the notorious Interahamwe, responsible for killing hundreds of thousands. Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the genocide, marked on 7 April, Mr. Murangwa shared his extraordinary story with UN News.