Nicaragua: Vice-President of Nicaragua meets WFP Country Director

WFP Country Director, Helmut W. Rauch visited the Vice President of Nicaragua, Moisés Omar Halleslevens and had a talk about relevant issues to the country including food security and nutrition. [News Article In Spanish]

UN: One in Four Syrians Need Aid

U.N. regional refugee coordinator Panos Moumtzis said four million Syrians are in urgent need of assistance, including two million who are displaced inside the country. By June, the U.N. forecasts regional refugee totals to exceed one million Syrians. (..) In December, the United Nations appealed for $1.5 billion to fund humanitarian needs, one billion for the regional refugee crisis and the remaining half billion to help those inside Syria. That appeal is only five percent funded. The money is needed to meet basic needs including food, water, medical care, shelter and blankets for tens of thousands of families displaced by fighting in Syria.

Myanmar: An aid worker's diary

In the town of Sittwe, the violence has divided the once peaceful ethnic Rakhine and Muslim communities, turning friends into enemies and driving neighbors into exile. At first glance the town appears peaceful, and the streets are bustling with people visiting shops and restaurants. But just a short drive from the town center the landscape alters with relief camps and NGO vehicles, the telltale sign that we are reaching our destination. Mozala camp houses 573 people from ethnic Rakhine communities in temporary bamboo shelters. (..) While the longterm solutions to this crisis remain unclear, the need for drinking water, food, shelter and medical care are very evident.

UN says CAR conflict situation is 'desperate'

The first UN mission to reach a rebel-held part of the Central African Republic says the situation there is desperate. Fighters agreed to a peace deal with the government in Gabon last week. But the rebels are still entrenched and nothing has been done to deal with the humanitarian emergency.