UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, World Health Organization, International Organization for Migration, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Growing Threat of Hunger and Malnutrition as Violence Escalates in Yemen

Akhil Iyer, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative in Yemen, speaking from Aden, said children across Yemen were yet again at the sharpest end of escalating conflict.

Yesterday, Mr. Iyer visited the Al Firdous displacement centre in Aden and saw firsthand the aggravating impact renewed fighting was having on children and families. There, he met four-year-old Taha at a UNICEF-supported mobile clinic. His family had just fled violence in Mokha District, some 200 kilometres away, leaving behind their home and belongings. Taha was suffering from severe acute malnutrition. His mother said “We escaped with nothing. My only fear was that I would lose my son before finding help.”

Taha's story was sadly not unique. What he and his family were going through was being repeated across the country, hitting a population already weakened by years of persistent food and nutrition crises. 

Another vicious cycle was being accelerated: conflict drove hunger, and hunger made children more vulnerable to conflict. In the past weeks, of nearly 2,900 children screened by UNICEF mobile nutrition teams in areas where safe humanitarian access was ensured and possible, more than one in four children were acutely malnourished, and over 200 had severe acute malnutrition.

But this was only a glimpse of how devastating the situation really is. Across the country – and already before the latest uptick in fighting - more than 2.2 million children under five were projected to be acutely malnourished in 2026, with over half a million suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form. Against this already dire backdrop, access to healthcare and nutrition treatment was being disrupted. For too many families, the search for food was now happening on the move.

Over the past three weeks, some 130,000 people – including an estimated 71,000 children – have been forced from their homes. The majority were displaced in the southwestern Taiz Governorate, unable to move to safer areas because of fighting, blocked roads, or lack of transportation. Some families had been displaced not once, not twice, but up to six times.

Mr. Iyer reported hearing from Haifa, a young mother who fled Yemen’s west coast, that “The sounds of gunfire were closing in and the house was shaking. I did not have time to think. I just knew I had to run with my family.” Today, they lived in a tent in extreme heat, with no source of income and struggling for food and medicine. Displacement did not only take away houses, it also took away livelihoods, community, independence, routines and the certainty that tomorrow would look anything like today.

Beyond being uprooted from their homes, too many children had already paid the heaviest price in this conflict. Since 3 September, UNICEF had verified that at least 15 children had been killed and 14 injured. Three more were still reported missing. Behind every one of those children was a parent living through the unimaginable – grief, fear, or the agony of not knowing. Education was also being impacted – in the past weeks, 243 schools had closed or suspended learning, affecting more than 137,000 students.

UNICEF was expanding its emergency response to reach up to 231,000 people in Yemen, many of them children, through mobile health and nutrition teams, safe water, support to health facilities and child protection services. But humanitarian assistance could not substitute for protection.

The world could not keep asking children to survive what they should never have been exposed to in the first place. All parties needed to protect children and civilian infrastructure, uphold international humanitarian law, and facilitate safe and unimpeded humanitarian access.

Mr. Iyer said that the children he had met did not talk about geopolitics. They asked about home, school and the people they had left behind. They asked where they were going to sleep tonight. These should not be the defining questions of a childhood.

Yemen’s children had already lost too much to conflict. They should not be forced to lose more, he concluded.

Read UNICEF’s press release here.

In response to questions on the number of displaced people, Omondi Okoth for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said around 130,000 people were displaced in Yemen. IOM tracked the number of displaced people daily, and this guided United Nations’ agencies response. Most were in Taiz Governate, where 75,000 people were hosted.

Eujin Byun for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that more than 3,700 refugees from Yemen had arrived in Djibouti, a very small country that was already hosting 4,000 refugees from Yemen. The number of Yemeni refugees in the country had thus almost doubled.  There were also refugees arriving in Somaliland and in Puntland.

Also responding to questions, Mr. Iyer there had been a concerning uptick in acute malnutrition among children, including in severe acute malnutrition, in nutrition clinics that UNICEF had set up. Children were more vulnerable to malnutrition and forced displacement than the adult population, and their chances of surviving were lessened with each forced displacement.

There were 15 verified killings of children in Yemen, primarily due to shelling. There was no verified information on the responsible party for the shelling; investigations were ongoing.

Access to healthcare was a serious issue in Yemen as humanitarian agencies did not have safe access to between 65 and 70 per cent of the population, which was living in areas controlled by the Houthis. There was a high risk of diseases such as measles, cholera, acute respiratory diseases and diarrheal diseases expanding quickly.

UNICEF’s head office was in Aden, and the organization had several smaller offices and hubs, some of which were in areas controlled by the Houthis.  It had been providing nutritional products and essential medicines to health facilities in Houthi-controlled areas, but doing so required exceptional approval from the authorities.

Amna Smailbegović for the World Health Organization (WHO) said that Yemen was facing multiple concurrent health risks that were putting pressure on the health system, which was already weakened by years of conflict and insecurity, as well as malnutrition and funding constraints. Major changes along the west coast had disrupted referral routes, increasing the importance of alternative corridors and of strengthening receiving hospitals in Aden and the east. The areas with some of the highest health needs were increasingly difficult to reach.

The disruption had a direct impact on essential services, including outpatient consultation, skilled deliveries and child health services. Of the 5,415 health service delivery units assessed for functionality, only 60 per cent were fully functioning; four per cent were non-functioning. Trauma care was available in only six per cent of facilities, which was particularly concerning as trauma needs rose sharply with the escalation.

Sudan Crisis Drives New Displacement into Chad as Humanitarian Support Continues to Fall Short

Mamadou Dian Balde, United Nations Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Sudan Situation and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, speaking from Nairobi, said that he had just returned from a mission to eastern Chad. Chad was a place where humanitarian interventions and development interventions were contributing to helping people who were forced to flee the brutal ongoing conflict inside Sudan.

He said it was a painful visit. He had seen the arrival of new refugees fleeing conflict, aerial bombardment, drone attacks, persecution and violence. People were more vulnerable because of the impact of climate shocks and water scarcity.

Some 400 people were coming in daily – 20 times more than the number a few months ago. Chad was a very generous country. Since the beginning of the year, 55,000 new refugees had arrived in the country.

Mr. Dian Balde said he had met a young woman who was caring for a cousin who was still recovering from brutality she had faced a year and a half ago, which had left her with a disability. He had heard harrowing stories of pain from ongoing rape and violence. It was not right that this was still occurring in today’s world, he said.

UNHCR and its 34 humanitarian partners had been given less than 20 per cent of the funding that they needed to respond to the situation. This meant less food, less capacities for people to be relocated and less access to shelter. It also meant people were trapped in very dire and vulnerable situations.

On the positive side, Chad was opening its borders, and its communities were sharing everything they had. Development interventions were also arriving, complementing humanitarian interventions in areas of water supply and healthcare. For example, recently, 400 new medical professionals had been appointed. These steps were essential for responding to the situation.

Painful stories continued to emerge from this emergency while the humanitarian effort remained underfunded. Greater support and innovation were needed to help affected people and host communities to be able to take care of themselves.

In response to questions, Mr. Dian Balde said UNICEF and humanitarian partners were asking for 1.6 billion dollars to respond to the situation in Sudan and in seven countries impacted by the conflict, but this was only 20 per cent funded. In Chad, there were over 150,000 people in border areas who could not relocate to safer areas. One in three people in Chad were refugees. The Government had provided land, and partners were ready to support, but relocation was not happening fast enough.

Food rations provided to newly arrived refugees were now being reduced and established refugees were sharing what they had. There had been an increase in water rations recently, but this was still insufficient. If people did not have opportunities to live a more dignified life in countries like Chad, they would vote with their feet and start moving to Europe and other regions.

Eujin Byun for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that while the overall number of people travelling to Europe via the Mediterranean had decreased recently, arrivals of Sudanese persons in Europe via the sea route had risen significantly since the conflict began. In 2025, there were 14,000 such arrivals, an increase from the 4,000 recorded in 2024. Unmet protection needs were a factor contributing to asylum seekers’ onward movement from countries like Chad.

Ebola Situation and Population Movements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Nihan Erdogan, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Deputy Regional Director for Operations in East, Horn and Southern Africa, speaking from Nairobi, said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continued to expand and remained a major concern for the country and the wider region.

As of 21 September 2026, the DRC had reported more than 7,700 confirmed cases and 3,700 deaths, with the outbreak affecting over 60 health zones across seven provinces. Behind these numbers were families who had lost loved ones and communities already facing conflict, displacement, limited services and constant population movement. This was why mobility needed to be at the centre of the response.

IOM was supporting Ebola preparedness and response in the DRC, Uganda and nine other at-risk neighbouring countries. Its role was to help governments and partners reduce the risks associated with population movement, particularly at points of entry and points of crossing, displacement sites, transport corridors, markets and river routes. IOM used population mobility mapping and other mobility data to identify major movement corridors, hotspots and informal routes where surveillance and health interventions needed to be strengthened.

Through surveillance supported by IOM and the Government’s National Border Health Programme, more than 700 alerts had been identified, including more than 200 deceased persons, with over 60 confirmed Ebola cases detected through these efforts. This demonstrated why surveillance needed to extend beyond hospitals and formal borders.

The Congo River was an important area of focus because it was major transport and commercial corridor linking communities across the country, including Kinshasa, home to more than 10 million people. IOM was working with the Government, the World Health Organization, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other partners to strengthen screening, surveillance, referral and community engagement along this corridor.

IOM was also particularly concerned about displacement sites. It was supporting more than 65 sites, including around 50 in affected areas. These communities were especially vulnerable because of overcrowding, limited services and high mobility. More than 280 displacement sites remained outside the current cluster system, and these populations needed to also be included in the response.

Across the response, IOM was supporting 124 active points of entry and points of control, with plans to expand further as the situation evolved. It had supported more than 36 million health screenings and reached more than 35 million people with targeted risk communication and community engagement messages.

In Uganda, although the outbreak had been declared over, IOM continued to support preparedness, cross-border surveillance, screening, referral and population mobility mapping to reduce the risk of reintroduction.

The scale of the outbreak required additional resources. The IOM office in DRC had revised its six-month requirements from 14.7 million United States dollars to 69 million, increasing the overall regional appeal from 55.8 million dollars to 110 million. So far, IOM had mobilised 29.6 million dollars, leaving a funding gap of approximately 80.4 million.

IOM’s message was simple: the response needed to move as fast as the outbreak. Ebola did not stop at borders, river crossings or displacement sites, and the response could not stop there either. There needed to be continued support to detect cases early, strengthen surveillance, protect displaced and mobile populations, and reach communities along the major mobility corridors. Every alert detected, every traveller screened, and every case identified early could help save lives and prevent further transmission

In response to questions, Ms. Erdogan said that when people moved, there was a chance of outbreaks expanding. Some 700 alerts had been registered in IOM’s surveillance system, including 66 cases where persons had died due to Ebola.

Internal displacement camps were particularly vulnerable to Ebola. The fatality rate for Ebola in these camps was higher than in other areas. This was why working in these camps was a priority for IOM. With the outbreak declared for more and more health zones, IOM had had to increase its funding requirements.

Andrew Obat Mbala, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Regional Ebola Coordinator, also speaking from Nairobi, said that as the case fatality rate was high, at 81 per cent at internal displacement camps, IOM was working with surveillance teams to share information on outbreaks in camps. There were around 250 sites which were not part of the surveillance system, which was why IOM was working to expand surveillance areas. IOM was working to identify smaller camps on informal migration routes and had been able to position screening and surveillance in those areas. Most of the dead bodies were found in these areas.

Efforts to Deliver Humanitarian Aid to Isolated Communities in Nepal

Andrea Berardo, Nepal Deputy Country Director, World Food Programme(WFP), speaking from Kathmandu, said tomorrow marked one month since the floods that swept down mountain rivers in northern Nepal, destroying villages, roads and bridges and claiming many lives. The Government continued to lead the response, with the humanitarian community, including WFP, providing help as required.

WFP had completed a first round of in-kind food assistance to flood-affected areas, with rations covering 15,500 people. It had since 2015 a coordination centre for WFP, the Government and partners. WFP had also established a humanitarian office and storage facilities in the heart of the affected area.

The WFP-led logistic and telecommunication clusters had provided coordination services, including transport to 70 partner humanitarian organisations. For the next round of assistance, WFP planned to shift to a cash response wherever markets were functioning and give beneficiaries a way to choose what they needed most.

Many communities were in a vulnerable situation and were reachable only by air as it was a very mountainous area. Access was also constrained by flood damage and debris and the end of the monsoon season. WFP had delivered aid by helicopter or by drones when road access was not possible. This was the first time cargo drones had been used to transport food and other commodities in a rapid onset emergency. This pioneering technology allowed WFP to reach settlements that otherwise would have taken days to reach. This approach would transform future responses to disasters.

WFP had assessed the food security and market situation in Nepal, and there was both good and bad news. The good news was that food consumption had increased for 92 per cent of the surveyed flood-affected households. This showed that the assistance that had promptly been put in place was working. The bad news was that these households were relying on food assistance and displacement remained widespread, food stock had been lost, dietary diversity was very weak, and access to markets was constrained by damaged infrastructure.

WFP and the entire humanitarian community thus could not step back. Swift support from key partners had allowed WFP to respond to the disaster and assist those in need in a timely manner. It now needed continuous support to restore livelihoods and rebuild communities. WFP was there before the disaster, was providing assistance currently, and would continue to stand by Nepal throughout the recovery period, which would unfortunately likely span a long period.

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste 2026

Nancy Aburto, Deputy Director, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food and Nutrition Division, said that in 2019, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 29 September as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. Every year, FAO partnered with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to commemorate this annual event to raise awareness and promote action to reduce food loss and waste and accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which called for halving per capita global food waste and reducing food losses along supply chains by 2030.

This year’s theme was the “Transformative Potential of Reducing Food Loss and Waste”. This was transformative because saving food from being lost or wasted saved nutrients, natural resources and money.

Yet globally there had been no apparent progress since 2015 on reducing food loss and waste. The most recent estimates were that more than 13 per cent of food was lost globally after harvest and before reaching retail, while a further 19 per cent of food available to consumers was wasted at retail, food service and household levels. This amounted to a total estimated economic loss of more than 1.4 trillion United States dollars per year. Among the various food groups, fruits and vegetables experienced the highest percentage of losses. With an estimated 645 million people facing hunger and almost 2.7 billion unable to afford a healthy diet, the world could not afford business as usual

This year, the flagship event celebrating the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste would be conducted in conjunction with the World Forest Week and the FAO Committee on Forestry for the first time ever. This offered a strategic opportunity to redefine what was possible by raising awareness on the connections between food loss and waste, land use, forests, agricultural, and climate to inspire innovation and collective action.

Agricultural expansion remained the leading driver of deforestation globally. At the same time, approximately 28 per cent of agricultural land, or 1.4 billion hectares, was used to produce food that was ultimately never eaten. Food loss and waste also generated roughly 10 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change. 

Integrating food loss and waste, sustainable forest management, and agrifood systems transformation provided one solution for addressing multiple challenges. Reducing food loss and waste made better use of the land, and made better use of the water, energy and other resources already invested in food production, while helping to ease pressure on forests and other ecosystems. FAO supported members in their ambitions to reduce food loss and waste, transform agrifood systems, and protect natural resources – including forests.

On this year’s International Day, FAO would share the latest updates on food loss estimates and would launch an interactive map featuring the 2024 estimates from the food loss index, for which FAO was the custodian agency. This data, when combined with the food waste estimates generated by UNEP, provided better information for targeted actions and tailored solutions.

Everyone was invited to join the celebration of the International Day, to be held on 29 September from 12.30 to 2 p.m. Register to participate virtually here.

Ms. Aburto called on the international community to raise its ambition, strengthen partnerships, drive innovation and scale investment.

Escalating Conflict in Ethiopia

Responding to a question on reports of escalating conflict in Ethiopia, Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, read a statement from the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who expressed grave concern by the rapidly deteriorating situation in northern Ethiopia, including the seizure and the occupation of the three airports of Mekelle, Axum and Shire and reports of intensified fighting in and around Tigray and the spread of hostilities into neighbouring areas.

The Secretary-General called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, immediately de-escalate tensions, protect civilians, ensure safe and unhindered access for humanitarian partners to reach those in need and avoid actions that could lead to a broader and more devastating conflict.

Announcements

Ed Harris for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said that all were welcome to an event launching WIPO’s Global Innovation Index2026 edition on Tuesday, 29 September at 1:30 p.m. at WIPO’s offices in Geneva. The Index this year ranked 139 economies worldwide, using 79 indicators including venture capital figures, research and development data, intellectual property filings and more. Countries around the world used it to understand how to optimise their policies and create economic environments where their peoples’ ideas could make the biggest impact through new products and culture.

On Monday, 28 September at 3 p.m., there would be an embargoed press conference about the report presided by WIPO Director General Daren Tang. Embargoed materials would be circulated early Monday morning, and WIPO experts were available for one-on-one interviews. The embargo expired on Tuesday morning at 9:30 p.m.

Amna Smailbegović for the World Health Organization (WHO) said that this morning, WHO updated its recommendations for the composition of influenza vaccines for use in the 2027 southern hemisphere flu season. This followed an extensive global consultation over the past four days. It had also updated candidate vaccine viruses for animal flu viruses to help countries prepare for future influenza pandemics. Today, a press release would be issued with details on the recommended vaccine composition.

WHO issued these recommendations twice a year to help keep influenza vaccines effective. As flu viruses continuously changed, national vaccine regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies around the world used these recommendations to develop, produce and licence vaccines that kept pace with the continuous evolution of flu viruses.

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said that the high-level week of the UN General Assembly was being held in New York. The United Nations Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres had held over 90 bilateral meetings over the course of the week and issued over 25 statements in addition to readouts.

The Secretary-General spoke at a ministerial meeting in support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), saying that for decades, UNRWA had worked in very challenging environments and provided essential public services, preparing Palestinian refugees for a more peaceful and dignified future. However, its mandate and work were in jeopardy, he warned.

Mr. Guterres also made a statement yesterday in which he introduced his report on sea level rise, which showed that the global sea level rose by six millimetres in 2024 — the highest annual increase ever recorded.

Mr. Gómez said that on 29 September 2026 at 9:30 a.m., a press conference would be held by the Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement, an investigative body of the UN Human Rights Council. Speaking would be Tracie Keesee, Acting Chair of the Expert Mechanism and Victor Rodriguez Rescia, member of the Mechanism.

The Human Rights Council’s sixty-third session was still underway. Today, it was discussing its Universal Period Review.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child would close its one hundred and first session on Monday, 28 September, at 5 p.m. During the session, the Committee reviewed reports submitted by Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.

Tomorrow, 26 September, was the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. The Secretary-General, in his message for the day, said that we faced a stark reality: the threat of nuclear catastrophe was immediate and growing. He said the failure of recent multilateral efforts to advance nuclear disarmament and reinforce non-proliferation commitments had demonstrated the difficulty of consensus in a divided world. He called on the world to choose dialogue over division, diplomacy over confrontation, and disarmament over destruction.

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