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Sudan Update - UNHCR - WHO - OHCHR - UNFPA - OCHA
After four months of war in Sudan, UN humanitarians on Tuesday called for action to be taken to end the conflict which is having a “devastating impact” on people's lives, health and well-
being. In a statement UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that the “disastrous, senseless war in Sudan, born out of a wanton drive for power, has resulted in
thousands of deaths, the destruction of family homes, schools, hospitals and other essential services, massive displacement, as well as sexual violence, in acts which may amount to war
crimes”.
William Spindler, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency UNHCR, noted that over 4.3 million people have been forced to flee since conflict erupted on 15 April between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Latest UN data indicates that more than 900,000 refugees and asylum seekers have fled to neighbouring countries and 195,000 South Sudanese have been forced to leave Sudan.
Mr. Spindler added that within Sudan, over 3.2 million people have been internally displaced, including more than 187,000 refugees already living in the country at the start of the crisis.
Echoing that message, UN World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris warned that some 67 per cent of hospitals in the affected areas were out of service, denying access to care for “tens of thousands of people”. The WHO official further noted that the UN agency had verified 53 attacks on healthcare, in 11 people have been killed and 38 injured.
In the context of “insecurity, population displacement and non-functional laboratories”, Dr. Harris sounded the alarm about the difficulty of controlling ongoing outbreaks of measles, malaria and dengue. Conditions are even more dangerous for children, she said, with about one-third of under five-year-olds now chronically malnourished. “Measles and malnourishment equals a
death sentence for children under five,” she said.
The situation is also particularly dangerous for women and adolescent girls, stressed Laila Baker, Regional Director for The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with 2.6 million women and girls of reproductive age requiring humanitarian assistance. Some 260,000 women are now pregnant and almost 100,000 are expected to give birth in the next three months. But without critical services, including hospitals and safe delivery, “their lives and those of their children and the babies that are going to be the future generation are severely at risk”, Ms. Baker said.
The threat of sexual violence is an additional danger for women and girls, warned UN human rights office, OHCHR. According to spokesperson Liz Throssell, OHCHR had received credible reports of some 32 incidents of sexual violence against 73 victims by 2 August. This includes at least 28 incidents of rape. Men in Rapid Support Forces (RSF) uniforms were implicated in at least 19 incidents as perpetrators, but “the actual number of cases is likely much higher,” she said.
Ms. Throssell reiterated that the UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, had repeatedly reminded senior officials in Sudan that there is “zero tolerance” for sexual violence. “Perpetrators must be
held accountable and such violence must be clearly and unequivocally condemned,” she said. Adding to the calls for action, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the war is “destroying people's lives and their homeland and violating their basic human rights”. He urged all parties to the conflict to “end the fighting, protect civilians, and give humanitarian organizations unfettered access” to all areas of Sudan. The attacking of civilians, looting of humanitarian supplies, and targeting of aid workers and hospitals throughout the past four months “may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
ENDS
STORY: SUDAN UPDATE - UNHCR, WHO, OHCHR, UNFPA, OCHA
TRT: 04:36”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 15 AUGUST 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
- Wide shot, Attendees and the panel at briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) William Spindler, UNHCR spokesperson: “Since the start of the conflict in Sudan on the 15th of April, over 4.3 million people have been forced to flee. This includes over 900,000 refugees and asylum seekers who fled to neighbouring countries and 195,000 South Sudanese forced to return to South Sudan. Within Sudan, over 3.2 million people have been internally displaced, including more than 187,000 refugees already residing in the country at the start of the crisis.”
- Close-up of laptop screen with speaker in background.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Dr Margaret Harris WHO spokesperson: “The conflict in Sudan has had devastating impacts on people's lives, their health and their well-being. About 67 per cent of hospitals in the affected areas are out of service. In these past four months, since the conflict began, WHO has verified 53 attacks on healthcare which have killed 11 people, injured 38 and along with other disruptions, these attacks have denied access to care for tens of thousands of people.”
- Side view of attendees at briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Dr Margaret Harris WHO spokesperson: “We've also got ongoing outbreaks of measles, malaria, dengue, and they're so difficult to control in this context of insecurity, people moving, population displacement and nonfunctioning laboratories. More than 40 per cent of the country faces hunger, and about a third of children under five are chronically malnourished, making them even more vulnerable to disease. As I'm sure you know, measles and malnourishment equals a death sentence for children under five.”
- Wide shot of panel.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Elizabeth Throssell , OHCHR spokesperson: “The High Commissioner is saying that the disastrous, senseless war in Sudan, born out of a wanton drive for power, has resulted in thousands of deaths, the destruction of family homes, schools, hospitals and other essential services, massive displacement, as well as sexual violence, in acts which may amount to war crimes.”
- Close of laptop and speaker in background.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Elizabeth Throssell , OHCHR spokesperson: “The UN Human Rights Office has also received credible reports of incidents of sexual violence, of some 32 incidents of sexual violence against 73 victims as of the 2nd of August. This includes at least 28 incidents of rape. Men in RSF uniforms were implicated in at least 19 incidents as perpetrators, and the actual number of cases is likely much higher.”
- Side view of attendees at briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Elizabeth Throssell , OHCHR spokesperson: “The High Commissioner has urged senior officials in Sudan, during his visit to Sudan and repeatedly since then, to issue clear instructions to all those under their command that there is zero tolerance for sexual violence. Perpetrators must be held accountable and such violence must be clearly and unequivocally condemned.”
- Close-up of screen with panellists.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Laila Baker, UNFPA Regional Director: “Some of the disruption in the services and how the disintegration of the social fabric is also leaving many women and adolescent girls at risk for both the lack of health care and that includes 2.6 million women and girls of reproductive age, who require humanitarian assistance.”
- Close-up of attendee typing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Laila Baker, UNFPA Regional Director: “Just to paint that picture for you a bit more clearly. Around 260,000 women are currently pregnant and almost 100,000 of those will give birth in the next three months. Without the critical services, including the hospital and safe delivery, their lives and those of their children and the babies that are going to be the future generation are severely at risk.”
- Side shot of attendee tying with speaker in background.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson: “The war is destroying people's lives and their homeland and violating their basic human rights. They call on the parties to the conflict to end the fighting, protect civilians, and give humanitarian organizations unfettered access to all people in need in all areas of Sudan. They remind the fighters that attacking civilians, looting humanitarian supplies, targeting aid workers and hospitals are blocking aid. Things we have seen throughout those four months may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
- Close-up of attendee typing
- Side view of attendees.
- Close-up of attendee writing.
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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