Today’s top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Occupied Palestinian Territory

Earlier today, the World Food Programme (WFP) delivered food for 25,000 people in Gaza City – about 88 metric tons of food parcels and wheat flour. This was the agency’s first successful convoy to the north since 20 February.

WFP says that with people in northern Gaza on the brink of famine, we need daily deliveries to the north, as well as direct entry points.

As hunger grows across the Gaza Strip, we and our partners are working to deliver desperately needed assistance, despite ongoing fighting and Israeli bombardment, as well as insecurity, frequent border closures and access constraints that continue to impede safe and efficient aid operations.

Last week, 19 partners reached a daily average of 200,000 people in Gaza with food assistance, including food parcels and hot meals. More than two-thirds of this number were in Rafah, with the rest in Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and other areas.

For their part, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners reached two other hospitals in northern Gaza yesterday – Al Shifa and Al Helou.

The team delivered food, as well as 24,000 litres of fuel to Al Shifa. They also brought medicines medical supplies for some 42,000 patients, including medicines, anesthetic drugs and surgical materials.

In a social media post, WHO’s Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Al Shifa is minimally functional and urgently needs specialized health workers. He said needs are also dire at Al Helou hospital, where WHO carried out an assessment mission. Services across all departments are limited, and there are shortages of fuel, food, surgical equipment and medical staff.

Haiti

We continue to deliver assistance in Haiti despite the risks.

On 10 and 11 March, WFP reached more than 24,000 people with hot meal in sites for displaced people. In total, since 29 February, WFP has delivered more than 62,000 hot meals.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its partners continue to run mobile medical and psychosocial clinics at sites for displaced people and are making referrals for more vulnerable cases.

The health system remains a major concern, with many health facilities having been forced shut down. Blood shortages persist at the National Blood Transfusion Center and efforts are underway to bring in blood that is currently in neighbouring Dominican Republic.

The total number of displaced people – including the 15,000 people newly displaced in Port-au-Prince, has reached to more than 360,000 people, according to IOM. More than half of them are children, a particularly vulnerable group.

The lack of goods and resources is amplifying an already precarious economic situation, with water and basic services being stretched to the limit.

Mozambique

OCHA is supporting efforts to prepare and respond to the effects of Tropical Storm Filipo. The storm made landfall earlier today in Inhambane Province, in the country’s southeast.

The storm is bringing heavy rainfall to central and southern Mozambique, which has been affected by an El Niño-induced drought since October.

Authorities in Mozambique report that more than 525,000 people, as well as hundreds of schools and health centres, are located in high-risk areas. Relocations of people have already begun. Authorities are also working with community groups on early warning, including by putting out alerts in local languages.

OCHA has deployed to the provinces of Inhambane and Sofala to assist with preparedness and coordination efforts, together with our humanitarian partners.

Live-saving equipment, including boats and drones, have been pre-positioned, but other humanitarian supplies, including food, water and education assistance, are in short supply.

Additional funding is also urgently needed: This year’s Humanitarian Response Plan for Mozambique is just over 5 per cent funded, with some US$22 million received out of $413 million required.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

A top official from OCHA is visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo this week for discussions focused on the severity of the humanitarian crisis in the country.

Ramesh Rajasingham, Representative of the OCHA Office in Geneva and Director of the Division of Humanitarian Operations Coordination, met yesterday with officials in the capital Kinshasa to underscore the importance of ongoing collaboration between the Government and humanitarian partners to support people affected by climate shocks and conflict in the east of the country.

Mr. Rajasingham will visit the provinces of North and South Kivu to hear from those impacted by the crisis, as well as provincial authorities, humanitarian partners and civil society organizations involved in the response.