Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

“The very ground I was walking on, the very place people were sleeping on at night,” the UN’s top humanitarian official said Friday, describing conditions inside overcrowded displacement shelters in Haiti as she warned the country is facing one of the most severe and rapidly deteriorating crises in the Western Hemisphere.

Edem Wosornu, Director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Crisis Response Division, said more than half the country’s population now in need of assistance and donors having funded just a fraction of last year’s appeal.

"We only received 27 percent of what we asked for last year," Wosornu said at a press briefing at UN headquarters in New York today (10 Apr), calling on the international community to meet an 880 million dollars appeal for 2026.
Wosornu said 6.4 million people – over half of Haiti’s population of roughly 11.9 to 12 million – are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 5.7 million acutely food insecure. The humanitarian community is seeking 880 million dollars to reach 4.2 million people, including a hyper-prioritized 680 million dollars plan targeting 3.3 million people.

She described Haiti as gripped by a deepening protection crisis driven by gang violence, mass displacement and widespread gender-based violence. Ninety percent of Port-au-Prince is under gang control, she said, leaving residents confined to the remaining ten percent of the city.

Wosornu also said 1.45 million people – 12 percent of the population – are currently displaced, with 2,800 people sheltering in a school built for 400 in the Labitrie neighbourhood. She said residents told her directly where she was standing was where they slept at night, describing terrible living conditions. “Vermin, roaches coming out, rashes on skin of children, people showing you things that they said, "In our homes we were fine, and here we are displaced" – the very ground I was walking on, the very place people were sleeping on at night,” Wosornu shared.
The Director also said 1,600 schools across the country remain closed due to insecurity, leaving 250,000 children without access to education – a figure she called "a big, huge deal" in a country where schooling is deeply valued.

On gender-based violence, she said 8,100 survivors were recorded last year, a 25 percent increase from the prior year, with half of reported cases involving rape and one in six survivors under the age of 18.

Wosornu concluded, “Humanitarian assistance alone cannot change the fate of the people of Haiti and the trajectory of Haiti. Political solutions – you know that – improved security, urgent, sustained investment in essential services can create solutions for the people. Haiti’s courage undeniable. Our support ever so necessary.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmnQrOGhq2A

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Edem Wosornu, Director at the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reports on a recent trip to Haiti, noting a deepening protection crisis marked by insecurity, relentless violence, mass displacement and shocking levels of gender-based violence.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oX-6mjqPFAI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Highlights:
– Sudan
– Iran
– Lebanon/Humanitarian
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Afghanistan
– UN Women
– Financial Contribution
————————————-
SUDAN

The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, is concluding today his visit to Nairobi, in Kenya, where he held productive engagements with Sudanese armed groups and civilian political actors, as well as with civil society representatives, members of the diplomatic community and Kenyan authorities. In his meetings, Mr. Haavisto stressed the urgent need to pursue practical measures to deescalate the conflict and ensure the protection of civilians.

Mr. Haavisto reiterated that the conflict cannot be resolved through military means and highlighted the importance of achieving swift, tangible progress toward peace, given the devastating impact the ongoing violence is continuing to have on Sudan and its people.

The Personal Envoy echoed statements by the Secretary-General and the Security Council reaffirming the need to safeguard the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan, rejecting the establishment of any parallel authorities and underscoring the commitment of the United Nations to engaging with all relevant stakeholders to advance peace. Mr. Haavisto will next travel to Berlin ahead of the ministerial-level meeting of the International Sudan Conference, which is scheduled next week, on 15 April.

IRAN

The Secretary-General welcomes the U.S.-Iran talks that are mediated by Pakistan, scheduled to start in Islamabad over the weekend.

He calls on the parties to seize this diplomatic opportunity to engage in good faith toward a lasting and comprehensive agreement, with a view to deescalation and the prevention of a return to hostilities. His Personal Envoy, Jean Arnault, continues to be in the region to support diplomatic efforts.

The Secretary-General reiterates that there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes, in full accordance with international law, including the UN Charter.

LEBANON/HUMANITARIAN

In Lebanon, the situation continues to deteriorate and essential services for people in need are under extreme strain.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health reported that the strikes on Wednesday across the country killed more than 300 people and injured over 1,100 others. This brings the total number of people killed since 2 March to nearly 1,900, with more than 6,000 people injured. This is according to numbers given to us by the Lebanese Government.

Our humanitarian colleagues continue to be seriously concerned over attacks on health and emergency services. Today, a strike on an ambulance killed two first responders in the province of Tyre.

Full Highlight: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-04-10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQF7hbXdtCA