“I got such a feeling of outrage, healthy outrage, proactive outrage, which I still feel now.”

Staffan de Mistura has dedicated his life to making a difference. Now the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, he spent a large part of his 48-year career at the UN striving for an end to some of the most intractable conflicts of modern times.  

“I have no regrets. I would have never chosen another type of job. I think you can [make a difference] even in the worst-case scenario - always.”

From Syria and Afghanistan to Sudan and Iraq, the seasoned diplomat is known for bringing creative thinking to the negotiating table even when others have lost hope. In this episode of Awake at Night with Melissa Fleming, Staffan de Mistura reflects on harnessing constructive outrage as a driving force, on his determination in the face of despair, and why at 75, he isn’t ready to retire just yet.

UNHCR and WFP set up an independent service - UN FLEET - to help their sister UN organizations lease the vehicles they need for operations around the world.

Haiti is on the shortlist of acutely hungry countries. WFP needs more support from UN member states to further facilitate humanitarian access and protect humanitarians and assets.

More than a year after foreign forces withdrew and the Taliban took power across the whole of Afghanistan, the country’s economy has withered and development aid and assets are still largely frozen. Millions of families have almost no way to cope with another harsh winter. Indeed, WFP is one of the last remaining barriers between Afghanistan and famine.  But the strength of our hunger barrier will depend on donor generosity. WFP urgently needs US$1.1 billion to continue delivering food and nutritional assistance for the next six months to 18 million acutely food-insecure Afghans.

Nataliia was four months pregnant when the war started in February 2022. Due to the stress of the conflict she gave birth three months early. From forced displacement, severe shortages of reproductive health care and the high risk of sexual violence, the war in Ukraine is having a disproportionate impact on women and girls. For thousands of pregnant women without access to essential services, childbirth is now fraught with added danger: Many hospitals are citing higher numbers of premature babies, health facilities are destroyed and damaged, and staff and supplies are running increasingly low.

Charity can alleviate the worst effects of humanitarian crises, supplement public services in health care, education, housing and child protection. The International Day of Charity was established to promote volunteer and philanthropic activities. The Day is observed every year on 5 September to commemorate the anniversary of the passing away of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace."

Molok is a 30-year-old midwife in Yemen. Since losing her husband to the country’s grinding war, she raises her two sons alone and supports the family by working at a UNFPA mobile clinic.

The principle is simple: give what you can – whether it’s one meal or one year of meals – and know that it makes a difference. In US dollars, a meal supplied by the WFP costs around 80 cents – less than the price of a cup of coffee. By July, the official donation app of WFP reached a milestone: 150 million meals served – welcome news as WFP responds to the record hunger of 2022. This year WFP aims to reach 152 million people and is calling for US$22.2 billion to do so – with as many as 828 million people around the world who go to bed hungry every night, every penny counts.

Over the past year, parts of Afghanistan have become safer, but the country is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis. Here are five things to know about Afghanistan and how UNHCR is trying to help.

IMO welcomed the signing of an initiative to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor to allow ships to export critical cargoes of grain and foodstuffs from Ukraine.

At a time when at least one in three children aged under 5 is affected by malnutrition, breastfeeding remains a critical way to help babies and young children meet their nutritional needs. In responding to a global hunger crisis in a year of unprecedented needs, the World Food Programme supports breastfeeding across the world, supplying pregnant and breastfeeding women with specialized nutritious foods to prevent and treat malnutrition. WFP provides nutrition training to mothers and their communities on what is very literally a lifeline – breastfeeding helps to provide immunity against diseases, serving children well beyond their earliest days.

“We tried to flee on the back of a truck, but they caught us. They took me away, raped me and left me in the bush.” Mahlet* was just 17 when she fled her home in November 2021 to escape the conflict raging in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. 

“What is keeping me awake at night is the horror of knowing that it hasn't ended yet and that there are more people alive today that are very likely to be dead tomorrow.”

Osnat Lubrani knows first-hand the horrors of war. As UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, she has witnessed the dramatic changes since the Russian invasion and rapidly mounting needs as the war tears lives apart across the country. At least 15.7 million Ukrainians are now in urgent need of humanitarian aid, with the UN working to expand existing programs and establish new life-saving operations. Yet access to some of the most vulnerable is proving extremely problematic. In this episode, Osnat Lubrani reflects on the frustrating battle to reach them, what it feels like to receive distressing cries for help, and what gives her hope when all seems lost.

Photo: ©Osnat Lubrani

Moored off Yemen’s Red Sea coast, the FSO Safer is an aging supertanker in advanced state of decay that will soon break apart or explode if the world does not act.  The United Nations is ready to implement an emergency operation to prevent this disaster. But the work to transfer the oil to a safe vessel is already delayed because of insufficient funding. To bridge the funding gap and start the emergency operation, the United Nations is asking for contributions from members of the public. Donate now

During his two-day visit to Niger in May, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, saw first-hand the country’s complex and growing humanitarian crisis. Persistent insecurity in Niger has taken a toll on education; 800 schools have closed nationwide, affecting 69,443 students, including 33,546 girls. OCHA supports projects to ensure access to education for about 7,410 children by building 25 classrooms and training 132 teachers in the Tillabéri region.