Global Voices
중도 성향
기타
Ugandan activists make the case for ecofeminism
In this edition of Undertones, we explore a narrative calling for women to play a central role in climate-related decision-making in Uganda.
🌐 국제기구 · "CALLING" · 총 11건
필터 보기현재 지수
50.0
0 = 부정 우세
50 = 중립
100 = 긍정 우세
최근 7일 기준 5,638건을 분석한 결과, 뉴스 심리지수는 50.0(균형)입니다. 긍정 0건(0.0%)·중립 5,638건(100.0%)·부정 0건(0.0%)이며, 중립 비중이 뚜렷하게 높습니다. 성향 지수는 종합 0.0(중도 균형)입니다.
In this edition of Undertones, we explore a narrative calling for women to play a central role in climate-related decision-making in Uganda.
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo Source: International Rescue Committee Delayed detection and slow contact tracing suggest virus has likely spread undetected for months Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 1, 2026 — The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is likely significantly larger and more advanced than official figures suggest, as response efforts struggle with delayed detection and dangerously low levels of contact tracing, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warned today. With only 20% of contacts currently being traced, health authorities are struggling to identify and isolate new chains of transmission. The virus may have been spreading undetected since before March, potentially as long as three months before the first official case was identified, allowing multiple chains of transmission to establish across communities and provinces. The combination of these factors dramatically increases the likelihood that the true scale of infections is far higher than reported, the IRC warned. Rachel Howard, Senior Technical Emergency Health advisor at the IRC, said: “The true scale of this Ebola outbreak is likely far worse than official figures suggest. When four out of five contacts are not being traced, it becomes incredibly difficult to contain the outbreak or even understand its true scale. We’re especially concerned about the virus spreading to other countries like Burundi or South Sudan.” IRC teams warn that shortages of diagnostic cartridges and testing backlogs are slowing confirmation of cases, further obscuring the true spread of the outbreak. Seven confirmed Ebola patients have reportedly left treatment centers in the DRC, while more than six healthcare workers have died, including two doctors in recent days. The incidents underscore the deep fear and mistrust some communities continue to have toward Ebola prevention and treatment efforts. People are avoiding health facilities, raising fears that those affected are remaining within communities rather than seeking treatment. As a result, transmission is spreading across multiple areas, and communities are losing trust in the response. Strengthening local, community-based prevention and infection control should be the immediate priority to control the outbreak at the source. Without urgent funding, the situation could deteriorate rapidly. This outbreak is increasingly resembling the 2018–2020 North Kivu Ebola crisis, which infected thousands of people and was complicated by insecurity, population movement, and community resistance. However, unlike previous outbreaks, there is currently no approved vaccine available for this Ebola strain. The IRC is calling for urgent international support to scale up contact tracing, surveillance, laboratory testing, treatment capacity, and community engagement efforts before the outbreak escalates further. It is also critical to build trust with affected communities, including through survivor-led awareness and risk awareness activities. In response to the current escalating outbreak, whilst working in close coordination with the government health authorities who are leading the response, IRC has launched prevention and control activities, including distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as well as awareness raising activities amidst communities at risk, rehabilitation of triage areas and rehabilitation/construction of showers, latrines and waste disposal areas. In Uganda, IRC is working with the Ministry of Health on the border to support infection, prevention and control activities including screening people coming across the border. IRC is also supporting response coordination in Uganda. Media contacts Madiha Raza International Rescue Committee madiha.raza@rescue.org Kim Winkler International Rescue Committee Kim.Winkler@rescue.org IRC Global Communications communications@rescue.org
Country: occupied Palestinian territory Source: UN Children's Fund This is a summary of what was said by UNICEF Communication Specialist Salim Oweis - to whom quoted text may be attributed - at today’s press briefing at the Palais de Nations in Geneva GAZA/GENEVA, 29 May 2026 – “Failure to meet children’s basic needs in Gaza is trapping them in an endless cycle of suffering. “The experiences of the desperate parents I met this past week can illustrate this better than I could: “Hind hasn’t slept since her four-year-old daughter, Masa, was bitten by a rat during the night. “Like many families, they sheltered wherever they could – in their case, the second floor of a building block where sewage water leaks through the ceilings, and rodents crawl through the cracks in the building and climb the exposed pipes. “Amani’s daughter, Lemar, she’s 7, has developed deep lesions and sores on her head, back and legs due to a bacterial infection. Amani tries to clean her wounds each day with the little, hard-to-get, clean water she has, as her daughter screams in agony. “Abdallah’s mother told me that he has developed a skin infection as they live in a tent next to sand contaminated with faeces. His mother has spoken to doctors and desperately needs the medication and enough clean water and hygiene products to help him heal and protect him from exposure to more infections. “Abdel Aleem said that his 8 months old son, Ahmad, and his pregnant sister-in-law were both bitten a couple of weeks ago. They have layered sandbags around the outside of the tent to try to protect themselves, but the rats simply chew through it – stopping them is futile. “The common thread running through every one of these conversations is the sheer heartbreak of parents who no longer feel able to do the thing most innate to them – protect their children’s health and safety. “One look at the conditions that people are being forced to live in is enough to understand why. “We know that Gaza was already one of the most densely populated places in the world. Now, people have been crammed into around 40 per cent of the space left to them – sheltering among broken buildings, rubble and mounting solid waste. “Families across Gaza do not have enough clean water, they are forced to choose between drinking, washing and cooking with what little they have. “UNICEF is trying to reach as many people as possible with clean water– up to one and a half million people a month – but there are significant obstacles: “Firstly – deadly attacks on water operations, including recently at Al Mansoura filling point, where two UNICEF-contracted truck drivers were killed whilst trying to collect water. Now, this main water filling station – which more than a quarter of a million people rely on – is inaccessible. “Secondly, items needed to sustain water systems and repair damaged water infrastructure – including: lubricant oil, water treatment chemicals and spare parts – are not being allowed in at the scale needed, meaning we cannot repair systems as quickly as needed to reach more children with clean water, and existing systems risk failure due to lack of maintenance and overuse. If we cannot repair systems, then we have to rely solely on water trucking which is much more expensive and doesn’t reach populations as effectively. “Thirdly, solid waste is piling up by the day. This, alongside rubble, needs clearing at a scale that is currently impossible because there is no accessible space left to clear it to. “The effects of this are now widely apparent: children with respiratory infections, acute watery diarrhea, and more than half of all households reporting skin diseases. Fleas, lice, and scabies are commonplace. Increasing numbers of children are requiring hospitalization. All without a single fully functioning hospital across Gaza. “The picture is similarly stark when it comes to children’s nutrition. While we have managed to reverse the famine, the number of malnourished and vulnerable children remain extremely serious. More than two years of food insecurity, poor housing, limited water, terrible sanitary conditions and regular disease outbreaks has left the population extremely vulnerable. Without enough clean water and fuel to cook proper meals, even children who recover with treatment will quickly fall back in a cycle of malnutrition – the effects of which can last a lifetime. “No parent should be in a position where they cannot provide their child with the basic needs to keep them healthy. No parent should have to watch as their child writhes in pain from lesions or buckle from weakness because of entirely preventable diarrhoea. That this is happening should be – to everyone – entirely unconscionable. “Access to water, adequate nutritious food, and health care should not be conditional for any child, anywhere. “UNICEF is calling for safe unfettered access to deliver humanitarian operations, the lifting of restrictions on items needed to quickly repair and sustain water and sanitation systems, and for international humanitarian law to be upheld. “Only then will children in Gaza start to break free from the cycle of suffering they are trapped in.”
Country: Lebanon Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Please refer to the attached file. HIGHLIGHTS Hostilities continued despite the ceasefire extension announcement, with airstrikes and displacement orders affecting at least 40 new localities in southern Lebanon. A total of 33,897 families (129,724 people) remain displaced across 635 collective shelters. Close to 52 per cent of displaced people in collective shelters are women and girls. Hostilities have killed at least 3,185 people and injured 9,633 people since 2 March, according to Ministry of Public Health. An audit of gender-based violence (GBV) risks in 180 collective shelters has revealed severe protection risks. Between 21 and 25 May, nine incidents targeting health care were recorded, resulting in eight deaths and forty-five injuries among health care workers. Access to maternal health services and acute medical care remains critically constrained in communities south of the Litani River. The Lebanon Flash Appeal is 58 per cent funded. An extension until end August of the appeal will be launched in the first week of June 2026. SITUATION OVERVIEW Airstrikes across Nabatiyeh and South Lebanon Governorate including Tyre district continued, resulting in widespread casualties, displacement, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. According to the Ministry of Public Health, 3,185 people have been killed since 2 March 2026, including 276 women and 217 children, while 9,633 people have been injured, among them 1,152 women and 854 children. Beyond immediate casualties, the death, injury, or displacement of adult household members is increasingly disrupting family structures. In many cases, women are assuming greater responsibility for care, income, decision-making, and access to assistance. Sustained and flexible funding is urgently needed to ensure that protection, cash, shelter, health, WASH, and livelihoods responses can identify and adequately support households facing these shifting dynamics. Displacement levels continue to rise due to ongoing hostilities and successive displacement orders. During the reporting period, 6 renewed and 6 new displacement orders were issued for 40 localities, the majority located in Tyre District in the South governorate. These orders have triggered significant new population movements across the south. As of 25 May 2026, approximately 129,724 people, representing 33,897 families, were reported as displaced across 635 collective shelters nationwide, reflecting a clear and sustained upward trend in displacement figures. Beirut and Mount Lebanon governorates continue to host the largest number of displaced people, while pressure on shelters across other governorates is also increasing. Despite a ceasefire extension announcement and the adoption of a World Health Assembly resolution calling for the protection of healthcare in Lebanon on 21 May 2026, attacks on medical personnel and facilities have continued. Since 2 March, 173 incidents have been recorded, resulting in 123 deaths and 273 injuries among health care workers, underscoring the urgent need for all parties to respect and uphold their obligations under International Humanitarian Law According to the Health Sector Emergency Situation Report, access to maternal and acute care south of the Litani River remains critically constrained, with patients facing delays of up to 48 hours to secure clearance for referral. Between 60 and 80 per cent of households in affected districts are unable to afford health services. The capacity of health systems is under severe strain, with only 68 per cent of facilities fully functional and 29 per cent partially operational, hampered by insecurity, staff shortages, stock depletion of essential medicines, and weak referral systems. Public health risks in areas affected by the hostilities are rising, with a growing incidence of respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, mental health conditions, and injuries, compounded by critical shortages of medications for non-communicable diseases, trauma supplies, and fuel to operate health care facilities. On 22 May, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator visited Tyre alongside inter-sector coordination group agency leads. The group met with the Tyre Union of Municipalities and Disaster Risk Reduction Manager, who noted that current displacement numbers exceed those recorded during the 2024 conflict. It was also mentioned that small numbers of displaced families are returning despite ongoing risks, driven largely by economic pressure and strong attachment to their lands. A GBV safety audit of 180 collective shelters revealed severe protection risks, including overcrowding, lack of privacy, poor lighting, and inadequate separation of vulnerable groups, with female-headed households, adolescent girls, and people with disabilities identified as most at risk. Funding constraints remain a major challenge to sustaining life‑saving assistance. As of 25 May, the 2026, Lebanon Flash Appeal, requiring $308 million, is only 58 per cent funded with around $180 million received. The remaining significant funding gap is limiting the ability of humanitarian partners to maintain essential services and expand response capacities especially under continuous waves of renewed displacement.
Country: occupied Palestinian territory Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians On 1 June, Israeli authorities will invite bids from private companies to construct 3,400 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank – a step that would effectively cut off occupied East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied West Bank, further fragment Palestinian territory, forcibly displace communities including Khan al-Ahmar and restrict access to essential healthcare. This step would consolidate Israeli control over the corridor linking East Jerusalem to the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc – an outcome widely recognised by governments as undermining the viability of a contiguous Palestinian state and violating international law. In a joint statement last week, the UK and partner governments warned that companies involved in such settlement activity may face “legal and reputational consequences.” Palestinian families in Khan Al-Ahmar now face imminent forced displacement after Israeli authorities moved last week to revive long-standing demolition orders against the community. Khan Al-Ahmar is one of 18 Bedouin and herding communities in the path of the plan. Around 4,000 Palestinians across the 18 communities could lose their homes and land. Abu Khamees, a community leader in Khan Al-Ahmar, has lived under the shadow of demolition orders for years. Nothing, he says, prepared him for this. “Families here are not prepared to leave. We had been living in limbo for years given a temporary halt on the demolition order. The decision for imminent forced displacement was like an electric shock to us. People are anxious about where to go with their children as well as how to access essential services like health and education. People here have already been suffering because reaching healthcare has been extremely difficult, with interrupted services due to movement restrictions and checkpoints. "This is a nail in the coffin of the so-called two-state solution; with the forced displacement of our community Khan Al-Ahmar, and the completion of the E1 settlement project, which has been considered a redline by Western governments for decades. This also jeopardises regional peace and stability. What is the international community willing to do after all these empty promises?" MAP’s mobile clinics have delivered essential healthcare to over 33,000 Palestinians across 22 communities since 2025. Many of these communities are in “Area C”, which covers approximately 60% of the West Bank and is under full Israeli military control, where access to permanent health services is denied due to Israel’s apartheid policies. In these areas, mobile care is often the only lifeline, reaching isolated communities that are cut off from hospitals and clinics due to movement restrictions and settlement expansion. Israel's illegal settlement expansion across the West Bank has systematically fragmented Palestinian communities, severing patients from hospitals and clinics through settler-only roads, checkpoints and the separation wall. Settler violence has further deterred patients and healthcare workers from travelling. The result is a population denied timely, consistent access to the healthcare they urgently need. Khan al-Ahmar is not an isolated case. A parallel E2 project south of Bethlehem would see around 2,500 new settlement units built in a corridor designed to sever the southern West Bank in half. Israeli authorities have already approved 3,401 new settlement units in the E1 area alone. Israeli settlement expansion is compounded by escalating settler violence, which forms part of a broader coercive environment driving the displacement of Palestinians and entrenching de facto annexation. In a single week (12-18 May 2026), settlers carried out more than 50 attacks, including arson targeting homes, farmland and a mosque. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) , 870 attacks have been recorded across more than 220 communities so far this year – an average of six per day. Since January 2025, settler violence and related access restrictions have displaced thousands of Palestinians across the West Bank, with at least 38-45 rural and herding communities fully or largely emptied. Aseel Baidoun, MAP’s Deputy Director of Advocacy and Communications based in the West Bank, said: “The threatened destruction of Khan al-Ahmar exposes the hollowness of years of international handwringing over illegal settlements. Governments have spent decades calling E1 a red line, warning it would shatter any prospects of a viable Palestinian state, while doing virtually nothing to curb Israel's impunity. "If Khan al-Ahmar is erased from the map, it will not happen quietly or accidentally. It will happen after years of empty statements, diplomatic theatre, and deliberate political cowardice from governments that claim to support international law while allowing Israel to carve apart the West Bank piece by piece. Empty condemnation while illegal settlements expand in plain sight is not diplomacy – it's complicity in the ethnic cleansing.” MAP calls on the UK government to follow in the Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia, and Ireland’s footsteps and end trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This move, backed by 119 MPs, is consistent with the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 ruling that Israel’s decades-long occupation of the West Bank is unlawful. Nearly two years on from the ICJ’s advisory opinion, the UK government has still not published its legal review or set out any concrete steps to implement it. [ENDS] Aseel Baidoun, Deputy Director of Advocacy and Communications, based in Ramallah is available for interview on request. Please contact the press office to arrange at: press@map.org.uk or +44 (0) 203 869 1310 About Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) works for a future where every Palestinian has access to a comprehensive, effective and locally-led system of healthcare, and the full realisation of their rights to health and dignity. We work in the occupied Palestinian territory and in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
Country: Somalia Source: Action Against Hunger Action Against Hunger is warning that the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis reveals rapidly worsening food insecurity and nutrition conditions in the country, including a credible risk of famine in Burhakaba District in Bay Region. The organization has witnessed a significant rise in admissions of severely malnourished children to its stabilization centers across Somalia and is calling for an urgent scale-up of humanitarian assistance to prevent further deterioration and save lives. According to the updated IPC projection for April–June 2026, approximately 6 million people — nearly one in three of the population analyzed — are facing Crisis levels of hunger or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above). Nearly 1.9 million people are in Emergency conditions (IPC Phase 4), almost doubling in severity from the first quarter of 2025. The report also projects that 1.88 million children under five will suffer acute malnutrition in 2026, including nearly 493,000 children expected to suffer Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), the deadliest form of hunger. The report identifies the Bay Agropastoral Livelihood Zone as the area with the most alarming deterioration of food security. Within this zone, Burhakaba District has reached extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition (IPC Phase 5), with a Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate of 37.1 percent. Failing Gu rains, soaring food prices, and limited humanitarian food security assistance could worsen the crisis at a time when at least one out of three children in Burhakaba are already expected to be acutely malnourished. Action Against Hunger’s program data confirms the growing malnutrition crisis, recording an average 35% increase in SAM admissions across its stabilization centers between January to March of 2025 and January to March of 2026 (from 1,796 to 2,420 cases). The increases have been particularly severe in the Bayhaw stabilization center (serving the wider Bay region), with a 54% increase, and in the Wajid stabilization center (serving the Bakool region), with a 58% increase in admissions in the same timeframe. “What we are witnessing in Burhakaba and across the Bay region is not a future warning — it is a present emergency,” said Mohamed Abdi Haji, Acting Country Director of Action Against Hunger in Somalia. “A GAM rate of 37 percent means that in some communities, malnutrition is the norm, not the exception. Our teams are already on the ground; we currently support five of the six functional health facilities in Burhakaba district, and we are seeing the consequences of this crisis firsthand in our stabilization centers, where admissions of the most severe malnutrition cases have surged by more than half in some locations.” Food insecurity in Somalia is being driven by a convergence of failed and delayed rains, escalating food prices exacerbated by conflict in the Middle East, internal conflict and insecurity, and displacement. Across the country, deteriorating climatic conditions continue to devastate livelihoods. The April–June Gu rainy season has performed significantly below expectations, extending drought impacts after failed rains during the 2025 Deyr season and a harsh 2026 Jilaal dry season. Livestock losses, failed crop production, shrinking incomes, and soaring fuel and food prices linked to regional instability are pushing families deeper into crisis. Action Against Hunger is calling on the international community to mobilize support and prevent further deterioration of the food insecurity crisis in Somalia. “Somalia has stood on the edge of famine before and pulled back — but only because the world responded in time,” said Haji. “That window is open now, and it will not remain open indefinitely.”
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo Source: Concern Worldwide Concern Worldwide is responding to help protect communities and prevent the current outbreak of Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from spreading. The Ebola outbreak, confirmed on May 15, is estimated to have resulted in 129 deaths, 101 confirmed cases and 904 suspected cases in DRC up to yesterday (May 24). In addition, there has been one death, five confirmed cases and three suspected cases in neighbouring Uganda, and fears it is already widespread regionally. The World Health Organisation has determined the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern and upgraded the risk in DRC to “very high.” The epicentre of the outbreak is Ituri province, in the northeast of the country. Concern Worldwide has 100 staff in neighbouring North Kivu where cases have also been confirmed. “In North Kivu, people are scared but deeply resilient. They have seen what this disease is capable of before and are calling for an immediate response to protect them and their families,” Concern’s Country Director in DRC, David Jones, said. “We are mobilising our emergency response capabilities, using the expertise taken from responding to previous outbreaks - whether Ebola, cholera, or COVID19 - and will work tirelessly to ensure that people are informed, protected, and prepared.” Conflict The challenges are considerable. Ituri and North Kivu are part of a major cross border commercial corridor, with many people moving through the region. The region has also been impacted by multiple on-going conflicts, such as that between the government and the M23 armed group, which seized control of the major eastern cities, Goma and Bukavu, in January 2025, and has since governed them and surrounding areas. Fighting has damaged local services and driven people from their homes, sometimes forcing them to move hundreds of kilometres to find somewhere safe to rebuild their lives. Most of those who have been displaced are being hosted by other families or housed in camps in areas where resources, such as access to clean water and basic health services, were already scarce. Local health facilities are under-resourced and under-equipped to respond to such a crisis, especially as there is no approved drug or vaccine for this strain of Ebola. “The lack of clean water to maintain basic hygiene and sanitation in densely populated urban areas adds to the challenge of responding to a crisis of this sort, and limiting the spread of the disease,” Mr Jones said. “Ebola can be transmitted through physical contact with someone who is already infected. Goma is a city of two million people – bigger than Dublin – and is extremely crowded, making it very difficult to avoid physical contact with other people.” Concern is Responding Concern is responding by supporting 70,000 recently-displaced people based outside Goma. “We know from past experience that we can help prevent the spread of Ebola by informing people about the disease, the importance of hand washing and good hygiene practices, and providing them with access to clean water, soap, and the means to keep latrines clean,” he said. Concern is increasing access to clean water through rehabilitating and constructing water points, and delivering safer sanitation through new latrines. Local health centres will also be supported to respond through staff training, the provision of essential equipment, and minor refurbishment works based on identified needs. Cuts in international aid have heavily impacted NGOs in the region, and while humanitarian donors are mobilising to support the emergency response, the needs are huge, diverse, and require massive and prolonged support. Funding Appeal “We will face multiple challenges in the weeks and months ahead. We are starting to see the numbers of confirmed and suspected cases increase, and we expect to see more of them. Having sufficient supplies and access to areas will become increasingly difficult as the situation deteriorates.” “Currently, we have access and we have relatively free movement, but the worse the situation gets, the more severe the needs will become, and the harder it will be to serve them. It’s only going to become more difficult to respond. We must act now, and we must act strongly to avoid the unnecessary loss of life.” To support Concern’s Ebola Emergency Appeal click here For media queries and to organise media interviews contact Eamon Timmins, Media Relations Manager, Concern Worldwide at eamon.timmins@concern.net or 00 353 87 9880524
Countries: Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo Source: World Health Organization OMMUNIQUÉ Kampala, Republic of Uganda - WE, the Ministers of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of Uganda, and the Republic of South Sudan, together with Heads of Delegations, representatives of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and development and technical partners, convened at the High-Level Ministerial Meeting on Cross-Border Coordination on the Ebola Disease Outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus held in Kampala, Uganda, from 22–23 May 2026 under the theme: "Regional Solidarity, Preparedness and Coordinated Response. PREAMBLE MINDFUL that Ebola disease remains a high-consequence public health threat with severe health, humanitarian, social, and economic implications for affected countries and the region; CONCERNED by the evolving Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak declared by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 15 May 2026, following laboratory confirmation of the Bundibugyo species in Ituri province; NOTING with concern the epidemiological situation as of 20 May 2026, including confirmed transmission in Ituri and Nord-Kivu provinces, increasing numbers of suspected and confirmed cases, ongoing chains of transmission, and documented cross-border population movement signals involving Uganda and the broader region; NOTING that the current outbreak affecting and Kivu provinces constitutes both a Public Emergency of International Concern and a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security, requiring strengthened regional coordination and solidarity to urgently contain the outbreak and prevent further cross-border spread; RECOGNISING the heightened regional risk associated with porous borders, active trade and mining corridors, humanitarian crises, population displacement, insecurity, and limitations in surveillance and preparedness capacities at points of entry and border communities; ACKNOWLEDGING the efforts of the Governments of the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan, frontline health workers, rapid response teams, laboratory personnel, humanitarian actors, communities, and partners supporting the ongoing preparedness and response efforts; RECALLING the obligations of Member States under the International Health Regulations (2005), the Africa CDC framework for regional collaboration and health security, and continental commitments toward strengthening epidemic preparedness, surveillance, and coordinated emergency response systems; WELCOMING the leadership of Africa CDC and WHO in convening this High-Level Ministerial Meeting to strengthen regional solidarity, technical coordination, and operational preparedness and response to the Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak; WE HEREBY agree on the following actions and commitments: 1. Strengthen Cross-Border Surveillance and Early Warning Systems Commit to strengthening coordinated cross-border disease surveillance systems, event-based surveillance, joint contact tracing, active case finding, and real-time information sharing among the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan, including routine cross-border coordination meetings and harmonised reporting mechanisms. 2. Harmonise Points of Entry Preparedness and Population Mobility Monitoring Commit to strengthening and harmonising public health measures at official and unofficial points of entry, including traveller screening, alert management, referral pathways, population mobility mapping, and monitoring along high-risk mobility corridors and border communities. 3. Protect Frontline and Vulnerable Communities Commit to prioritising the protection of frontline health workers, displaced populations, mining communities, border communities and other vulnerable populations disproportionately exposed to the risk of transmission. 4. Strengthen Community Engagement Recognise the central role of trusted community leaders, civil society, media and local networks in promoting public awareness, early detection, prevention measures and community trust during outbreak response operations. 5- Strengthen Laboratory Systems and Diagnostic Capacity Commit to strengthening laboratory preparedness through decentralised diagnostic capacity, rapid sample transportation systems, genomic sequencing, surge staffing, and interoperability of laboratory information systems to support timely confirmation and response. 5. Strengthen Clinical Management and Infection Prevention and Control Commit to strengthening case management capacity, triage systems, Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), isolation capacity, safe and dignified burials, and protection of frontline healthcare workers in affected and at-risk areas. 6. Strengthen Risk Communication and Community Engagement Commit to strengthening Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) interventions, including community-based disease surveillance, social listening, rumour management, infodemic management, community feedback systems, and engagement of traditional, religious, youth, women, and local leaders to improve trust, acceptance, and adherence to public health measures. 7. Strengthen Operational Coordination and Incident Management Support the operationalisation and strengthening of the Africa CDC Continental Incident Management Support Team (IMST), Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs), and national and sub-national coordination mechanisms to ensure harmonised regional preparedness and response operations. 8. Mobilise Sustainable Financing and Operational Support Call upon Member States, regional institutions, development partners, humanitarian actors, donors, and the private sector to urgently mobilise and align financial, technical, logistical, and operational support behind national preparedness and response plans, including support for surveillance, laboratory systems, RCCE, IPC, and workforce surge capacity. 9. Strengthen Regional Preparedness and Health Security Commit to strengthening preparedness capacities in at-risk countries and border districts, including simulation exercises, workforce development, stockpiling of critical supplies, rapid response readiness, and continuity of essential health services during the outbreak response. 10. Sustain High-Level Political Leadership and Regional Solidarity Reaffirm our commitment to sustained political leadership, transparency, multisectoral collaboration, and regional solidarity to contain the outbreak, prevent regional spread, and protect the health security and socioeconomic stability of the region. 11. Advance Long-term Regional Health Security Underscore the urgency of investing in resilient health systems, regional preparedness capacities, workforce development, laboratory networks and emergency coordination systems to strengthen Africa's collective health security and preparedness for future outbreaks. 12. Ensure the continuity of essential services The critical maintenance of essential services includes healthcare, education, and other critical social services, in the affected provinces and countries throughout the response to the outbreak. We express our appreciation to the Government and people of the Republic of Uganda for hosting this important meeting, and commend the efforts of frontline responders, health workers, communities and partners working tirelessly to contain the outbreak. DONE in Kampala, Republic of Uganda, on 23 May 2026. For Additional Information or to Request Interviews, Please contact: Collins Boakye-Agyemang Communications and marketing officer Tel: + 242 06 520 65 65 (WhatsApp) Email: boakyeagyemangc@who.int
Country: Bangladesh Source: United Nations Population Fund SHERPUR, Bangladesh — Banessa Bibi, now in her nineties, cannot remember how many children she brought into this world. She only recalls the three daughters and two sons who survived. In her village, childbirth once meant labouring in the dark corner of a room into the hands of an unskilled birth attendant. Little had changed even by the time her two daughters, Jamena and Jamila, had children. For both, the consequences were devastating. Jamila, now 45, experienced severe complications as she delivered her second child at home. Prolonged obstructed labour caused an obstetric fistula, a traumatic childbirth injury. Preventable and treatable Obstructed labour is a deadly condition if not urgently treated – and treatment is both well established and available in most referral health facilities. Usually, this means a Caesarean section delivery. When women are unable to access care, the consequences can include death of the baby, death of the mother, or long-lasting physical injuries like obstetric fistula. The fistula, a hole in the birth canal, often causes incontinence and stigma. Women with this injury are often ostracized. Preventing and treating obstetric fistula is a human rights imperative, according to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, which is the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency. A flicker of hope After her obstructed labour, Jamila was left with regularly leaking urine and a foul odor coming from her body. Out of shame and humiliation, she withdrew from public life for two decades. Even her own granddaughter refused to go near her, she described. Jamila still shudders recalling years of feeling trapped in isolation. When she first learned her fistula could be cured by doctors at the UNFPA-supported Dhaka Medical College Hospital, she finally felt a flicker of hope. Two free surgeries followed, bringing the miracle of recovery. “They gave me my life back,” Jamila said. “At first, I was scared of what would happen to me. But their kindness, counselling and stories of other recovered women gave me strength. For the first time in nearly a quarter of a century, Jamila could breathe freely, sit comfortably beside others and live with dignity. Jamena, 55, also developed an obstetric fistula while delivering the first of her seven children. For years, she concealed her injury, fearing she might lose her job as a domestic worker. In 2025, after hearing about her younger sister’s surgery, she started to believe that healing might be possible for her too. With support from a UNFPA-supported fistula coordinator, Jamena sought treatment. Today, both sisters are healthy. They laugh, work, socialize and move through their community without fear or shame. A better future For as long as anyone can remember, gaps in maternal healthcare services in Sherpur had left pregnant women at high risk of fistula. But today, midwives conduct weekly outreach sessions, bringing maternal healthcare directly to local community clinics and reaching women who might otherwise never seek care. This includes midwives deployed by UNFPA with funding from Global Affairs Canada. UNFPA has also trained healthcare workers in the area, helping to dismantle long-standing barriers to care. As maternal health services improve, childbirth complications are being addressed, helping to prevent obstetric fistula from happening in the first place. And health teams are in place to provide comprehensive follow-up and treatment if it does occur. Even deep-rooted notions that home births are cheaper and less "troublesome" than going to a hospital are shifting through public awareness campaigns supported by UNFPA and the Government of Bangladesh. Banessa and her daughters lived a painful reality, one shared by generations of women in the past – but not the future.
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo Source: World Vision Ituri Province is home to more than 900,000 internally displaced people. Thousands of children are exposed to a high risk of infection. The newly identified Ebola variant does not match any previously known strain and currently has no vaccine available. Kinshasa, 18 May 2026 – The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has declared a new Ebola outbreak in the health zones of Bunia, Mongwalu, and Rwampara in Ituri Province. The initial toll, considered alarming, reports 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths, including 4 confirmed positive cases. This new outbreak comes amid an already fragile humanitarian situation marked by massive population displacement, persistent insecurity, and limited access to basic healthcare services. Children are among the groups most exposed to this health threat. ***“Our main concern is for children, who are the most vulnerable in a region already heavily affected by conflict and where humanitarian assistance remains insufficient due to a lack of resources. Drawing on our experience and working alongside all stakeholders, we are taking appropriate measures to limit the spread of this outbreak and save lives, particularly through hygiene promotion, with a special focus on areas hosting increasing numbers of internally displaced people. World Vision is working closely with health authorities to respond to this new disease,”***said Philippe Guiton, National Director of World Vision DRC. David Munkley, East zone Director, also stressed the urgency of a rapid response: ***“Ituri is already facing an alarming situation of acute malnutrition, which further weakens people’s immune systems, combined with extremely limited access to healthcare in remote areas. A rapid and coordinated response will help save lives and reach the greatest number of affected people,”***he said. While expressing its sympathy to families grieving as a result of this outbreak, World Vision RDC reaffirms its commitment to supporting the response alongside health authorities and humanitarian partners, particularly in the areas of child protection, prevention through the promotion of good hygiene practices, and infection prevention and control. World Vision has a long history of responding to Ebola outbreaks, not only in DR Congo but also in Uganda, Sierra Leone, and West Africa. During the 2018–2019 outbreak in eastern DRC, World Vision trained faith leaders and motorbike riders to deliver life-saving messages to remote communities. The Channels of Hope approach helped counter misinformation and stigma, building trust and resilience at the grassroots level. World Vision also contributed to the recent response to the Ebola outbreak in Bulape in Kasai by providing support to more than 200,000 children and patients, which enabled it to respond immediately to the outbreak, which was declared over in December 2025. As the situation in Ituri evolves, World Vision is calling for: Urgent funding for frontline response: We urge donors to release emergency funds to support health workers, community mobilisation, and protective equipment in Ituri and neighbouring provinces and countries. Strengthened regional coordination: We call on humanitarian actors and the DRC Government to enhance cross-border surveillance and preparedness, especially in high-risk zones. END Notes to Editor: For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact: -Philippe Guiton, National Director, Philippe_Guiton@wvi.org, +243970053733 -David Munkley, East Zone Director, David_Munkley@wvi.org, +243974053351 -Dr Philippe Ngenda, Health & Nutrition Specialist, Philippe_Ngenda@wvi.org, +243991008490 -Patrick Abega, Communications & PE Manager, Patrick_Abega@wvi.org, +243993692903 For more information, visit: www.wvi.org/congo
Country: Lebanon Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Please refer to the attached file. HIGHLIGHTS Hostilities continued despite the ceasefire extension announcement, with continued airstrikes and displacement orders affecting at least 14 new localities. Hostilities have killed at least 3,089 people and injured 9,379 people since 2 March. Civilians continue to be displaced from their homes, placing an increased strain on collective shelters and host communities. Health assessments across 15 affected districts estimate that 60–80 per cent of households are unable to afford health services. Another airstrike damages the Tibnine Hospital in South Lebanon on 19 May. More than 618,000 people received emergency multi-purpose cash assistance through Government-led response activities since March. Humanitarian partners have provided 10.3 million hot and cold meals for displaced families and vulnerable households to date. The Lebanon Flash Appeal is 54 per cent funded. A revised extension of the appeal will be launched during the first week of June 2026. SITUATION OVERVIEW Airstrikes across the southern governorates during the reporting period have continued, resulting in widespread casualties, displacement, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. According to the Ministry of Public Health, 3,089 people have been killed since 2 March 2026, of whom 296 were women and 216 were children. An additional 9,379 people have reportedly been injured, 1142 of whom are women and 845 are children. Displacement levels rose due to ongoing hostilities and displacement orders. During the reporting period, two renewed displacement orders were issued for 14 localities extending to Nabatiyeh city for the first time since the escalation started on 2 March, triggering new population movements. As of 21 May 2026, approximately 33,897 families (129,729 people) were reported as displaced in 635 collective shelters nationwide, reflecting a clear upward trend in national displacement numbers. Beirut, Mount Lebanon, South Lebanon, and North Lebanon are experiencing the greatest number of displaced people hosted, with growing congestion reported in shelters and an increased reliance on host communities and informal arrangements. Displacement patterns remain highly fluid, with repeated cycles of departures and returns complicating data tracking and operational planning as humanitarian needs continue to evolve unevenly across governorates, requiring ongoing adaptation of shelter and coordination responses. Returns remain limited due to insecurity, damaged housing, lack of services, and risks associated with unexploded ordnance (UXO). Attacks on health care professionals continue. On 19 May, another airstrike significantly damaged Tibnine hospital in Bint Jbeil District of South Lebanon Governorate, resulting in nine people injured, seven of whom are hospital staff. These incidents underscore the continued vulnerability of essential services and the risks faced by frontline responders, despite the ceasefire extension announcement. On 21 May, the 79th World Health Assembly recognized the severe health emergency in Lebanon caused by ongoing hostilities, expressed concerns over the devastating impact on civilians and the Lebanese health system, including attacks on health facilities and workers, closure of hospitals and primary care facilities, disruption of essential services such as maternal care, immunization, and non-communicable disease (NCD) management, and a critical shortage of medicines. It highlighted the urgent need for mental health support for affected populations and displaced persons and reaffirmed the obligation of all parties to protect health care under international humanitarian law. Funding constraints remain a major challenge to sustaining life‑saving assistance. As of 21 May, the Lebanon Flash Appeal calling for US$308 million is 54 per cent funded with US$166 million received. The significant funding gap is limiting the capacity of humanitarian partners to maintain essential services and provide life-saving assistance. Critical sectors, including Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), continue to face the risk of service interruptions starting in June 2026 if additional funding is not urgently provided.