Shortages of electricity, fuel, medicine and medical supplies are severely disrupting emergency care, blood banks, laboratories, immunization programmes and maternal and child health services, Edem Wosornu of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Altaf Musani of the World Health Organization (WHO) told journalists in New York via video link.

Their briefing followed a three-day visit to the island nation.

Surgeries and treatments delayed

The officials described a healthcare system under mounting strain as hospitals struggle to maintain basic services amid worsening shortages and power outages. In some areas, blackouts lasting up to 20 hours have forced hospitals to suspend non-emergency operations, while fuel shortages continue limiting ambulance services and delaying access to critical care.

More than 100,000 patients, including 11,000 children, are waiting for surgeries delayed by power outages and supply shortages.

Around five million people living with chronic illnesses are also at risk of interruptions to life-sustaining treatments, including more than 16,000 people requiring radiation therapy and over 12,000 currently undergoing chemotherapy.

“Human cost is significant and continues to grow,” Mr. Musani said, as local clinics struggle with severe shortages of medical supplies and unstable electricity.

Pregnant women, children at risk

Maternal and neonatal care have also been heavily affected.

More than 32,000 pregnant women face increased risks due to limited access to diagnostics, transportation and stable electricity needed to power lifesaving equipment in neonatal units.

“Staff have to carry water up the stairs while women give birth since pumps don’t work,” said Ms. Wosornu.

She added that transportation disruptions are preventing deliveries of vegetables and meat, leaving many pregnant women without adequate nutrition.

Disease risks increase amid outages

Water, sanitation and refrigeration systems are also facing disruptions, raising the risk of vector-borne and water-borne diseases, such as dengue and chikungunya.

Routine immunization programmes remain operational but are under increasing strain due to cold chain disruptions, transport limitations, and supply shortages.

Ms. Wosornu described the situation as an increasingly complex crisis with growing humanitarian consequences beyond a traditional natural disaster response.

Calls for urgent support

Despite the worsening conditions, the OCHA and WHO officials praised the resilience of local healthcare workers and communities, noting that doctors and nurses continue caring for patients despite severe shortages and difficult working conditions.

“Life saving aid must reach people without delays. Acting fast and working together is the only way to stop the situation from getting worse. We cannot afford another humanitarian crisis,” Ms. Wosornu said.

“We had to watch two of the babies die before our eyes,” said Dr. Hasan Babikir, describing the death of premature triplets he was unable to treat due to a lack of intensive care beds.

As tens of thousands of people, many in urgent need of healthcare, flee the violence engulfing South Kordofan, health workers at the El-Obeid Maternity Hospital in neighbouring North Kordofan describe dire conditions. 

Shortages

“There’s a severe shortage of surgical and normal delivery equipment, as well as essentials such as antibiotics, surgical sutures and gloves,” Dr. Babikir told the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA. 

“This forces us to buy them from the market at very high prices.” 

The maternity hospital is the only referral hospital in western Sudan and currently serves over 230,000 displaced people, most of them women and girls facing sexual violence, hunger and a near total lack of healthcare. 

The city of El-Obeid has also come under frequent drone attacks, with multiple attacks against health facilities that have killed and injured health workers and patients.

A growing maternal health crisis 

“Previously, the hospital didn’t have a neonatal intensive care unit,” said Dr. Babikir. “At the beginning of 2026, we opened one with only four beds, which are constantly occupied, and we urgently need to expand capacity.”

The increasingly fraught conditions are driving up maternal death rates, he warned. “We have lost patients due to prolonged waiting times. Although there are two emergency operating rooms, they are currently out of service.” 

“In many cases, emergency patients arrive while all rooms are occupied, sometimes resulting in the loss of the mother or fetus.” 

Newborns’ lives are in danger too, “we don’t have tables to place newborns on, nor do we have adequate infection control equipment in the delivery rooms,” said midwife Laila Sarfo. 

To combat these challenges, UNFPA has installed a solar power system to help mitigate power outages at the maternity hospital, rehabilitated delivery rooms, and trained and deployed skilled health workers to assist with emergency obstetric and neonatal services.

Health workers under pressure 

“The salaries we receive are not enough to cover even basic transportation or the meals we need during our shifts,” explained Insaf, a senior midwife. 

“Many times, women arrive without the means to purchase essential delivery supplies, and we find ourselves paying for these items out of our own pockets,” added Insaf. 

Yet she and her colleagues are determined to keep delivering care, “some midwives are working 24-hour shifts to meet the overwhelming demand,” said Insaf.

‘Women are exhausted from the war’ 

Nearly three years of civil war have pushed more than 33 million people in Sudan into severe need of humanitarian aid. 

The conflict has been marked by horrific sexual violence, kidnappings and child marriage, with survivors struggling to access any safe spaces or healthcare. 

In the crowded Al Moaskar Al Mwahhad displacement camp in South Kordofan, UNFPA operates a mobile health clinic and a safe space for women and girls who are survivors or at risk of abuse. 

“Women are exhausted from the war,” said Salma, 50, who has been sheltering at the camp for eight months now. 

“Many crimes have been committed against women, including rape. Many women have been widowed. In this camp, the number of women who are still with their husbands can be counted on one hand,” she added. 

For girls, the crisis is impacting almost every part of their lives and their futures, “We travelled by donkey for three days, and after those trucks brought us here,” 16-year-old Ismailia told UNFPA. 

“I hope to return to my town and my school. Please allow us to rebuild our home and go back.” 

To continue supporting women and girls in 2026, UNFPA is urgently calling for $129 million, of which just $33 million has so far been pledged.

Francisco Pichón cited growing risks to healthcare, water services and food distribution as the country’s energy reserves continue to fall.

The UN’s top official in Cuba told a press briefing in New York via video link from Havana, there was “concern that the crisis could deepen”, with shortages creating “acute humanitarian risks” for vulnerable communities. 

‘Multiple shocks’

The strain follows “multiple shocks”, including Hurricane Melissa in October, which affected more than 2.2 million people.

Cuban authorities have rolled out a month-long contingency plan to help deal with the challenges created by the fuel shortage; however, next steps are unclear, with potential for the grave situation to pose “a real risk to human suffering”, the Resident Coordinator said.

Daily life in Cuba is “becoming fragile” with essential services scaled back across the country – which relies on oil for over 90 per cent of its energy needs.

Medical scare

With five million people living with chronic illnesses, Mr Pichón emphasised that treatments are at risk due to the current energy crisis. For example, thousands of cancer patients that need continuous oncology care and services for more than 32,000 pregnant women. 

Moreover, nearly one million people – around 10 per cent of the population – get their drinking water from tanker trucks, while 84 per cent of pumping equipment depends on electricity, he said. 

Food security is also “deteriorating” with disruptions affecting the whole supply chain. Social protection is weakening whilst school programmes and elder care centres struggle to prolong services.

Real risks 

“The risk to people’s lives is not rhetorical, those who suffer first and suffer most are ordinary people, especially the most vulnerable.” Mr Pichón told reporters at the UN in New York on Wednesday. 

Amid this climate it has been increasingly difficult to reach people in need with energy scarcity driving transportation difficulties and import processes being delayed.

“Our capacities would be constrained unless there is a humanitarian carve out for oil and aid”

Diplomatic solution 

Looking ahead, Mr Pichón urged the international community to address this issue through a “diplomatic effort that can be pursued with the United States”. 

Threats to impose tariffs on countries providing oil to Cuba have been diminished following a Supreme Court ruling that declared it illegal for the United States to use an emergency economic law in this context. 

After four Cuban nationals were killed by the Cuban Coast Guard on a US-registered speedboat following a gun battle at sea Wednesday, Mr Pichón urged “restraint to prevent escalation”. 

India’s defence technology market is on the cusp of a major expansion, projected to grow from $7.6 billion in 2025 to nearly $19 billion by 2030, according to a new industry report released on Tuesday by staffing and workforce solutions provider Quess Corp. The sector is expected to clock a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 20 per cent, driven by rapid advances in digital engineering, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.

The report highlights a major transformation underway in India’s military modernisation—technology-led systems are expected to form almost half of the country’s total defence market by 2030, signalling a shift away from traditional platform-centric development. This transition aligns with the government’s push for indigenised, next-generation systems capable of integrating advanced sensors, software-defined capabilities and data-driven mission execution.

Quess Corp’s analysis shows strong momentum across a wide spectrum of emerging technologies, including computer vision, autonomous platforms, counter-drone systems, underwater robotics, directed-energy research, advanced sensing, and software-led mission systems. Much of this growth is being propelled by India’s vibrant innovation ecosystem, which now includes over 1,000 defence-tech startups and 194 firms connected through government-backed R&D and innovation programmes.

However, the report also issues a strong warning: critical skill shortages threaten to become the single biggest bottleneck in India’s defence modernisation drive. Specialised engineering roles—including radar and RF engineering, avionics, propulsion, optical engineering, quantum communications, systems integration, and testing and certification—account for less than 5 per cent of today’s defence workforce.

Such shortages pose significant risks for major programmes such as the development of next-generation aircraft, unmanned systems, underwater platforms, and secure communications networks. Without urgent intervention, the report notes, these gaps could slow production timelines, reduce deployment readiness, and undermine India’s export competitiveness.

One of the clearest indicators of India’s shifting priorities is the explosive rise of counter-drone technologies. The report finds that 71 per cent of all defence-tech startup funding is currently channelled into counter-drone solutions, making it the fastest-growing segment within India’s defence innovation landscape. This segment alone is expected to grow at a 17 per cent CAGR, reaching $1.4 billion by 2029—a reflection of rising drone threats along the border and increasing demand from military and homeland security agencies.

“The next five years are decisive,” said Kapil Joshi, CEO – IT Staffing at Quess Corp, emphasising the urgency of workforce development. “For India to become a global systems leader, scaling defence-ready AI and frontier engineering talent by 5–6 times is not just an industry need—it is a national imperative.”

The report predicts that roles related to certification, safety engineering, testing and validation will see the sharpest increase in demand over the next five years. Yet without targeted skilling programmes, 40–45 per cent of these highly specialised roles may remain unfilled by 2030, creating constraints across production, deployment and quality assurance.

As India accelerates its push for indigenous defence capabilities and seeks to expand its global footprint as a defence exporter, the need to build a future-ready, technologically advanced workforce has never been more critical. The report concludes that India’s ability to meet its defence ambitions will depend as much on talent and engineering depth as on capital investment and innovation.

Since the ceasefire on 10 October, the UN migration agency IOM has dispatched more than 47,000 relief items, including 2,500 tents, to help families rebuild amid devastation.

“People in Gaza have endured unimaginable loss,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope.

Shelter ‘not a luxury’

“Shelter isn’t a luxury; it allows families to rest, to stay warm, and to begin rebuilding their lives. Every person deserves to live in safety and dignity, and humanitarian aid must reach everyone, everywhere.”

Shelter needs are extreme, with an estimated 90 per cent of the population displaced and at least 1.5 million people urgently requiring emergency shelter assistance.

“Many people are returning to find their homes reduced to rubble,” Ms. Pope added, warning that the recovery “cannot begin without safe housing”.

Despite the ceasefire, customs delays, insecurity, and limited crossings continue to hinder aid delivery. IOM has pre-positioned millions of relief items in nearby Jordan, including 28,000 additional tents and more than four million winter supply items ready for rapid deployment once access improves.

A million meals a day

At UN Headquarters in New York, Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said the UN and partners are scaling up food, nutrition, and water services under the UN’s 60-day response plan.

“Our partners are now distributing over one million hot meals daily across the Strip,” he said, adding that six UN-supported bakeries have resumed bread production.

More than 150 nutrition sites are now operating across Gaza, supported by 20 mobile health and nutrition teams – double the number before the ceasefire. “This week alone, partners delivered enough therapeutic food to treat 1,200 children suffering from acute malnutrition,” Mr. Haq noted.

Water and sanitation support is also expanding, with hundreds of thousands of diapers, jerry cans and hygiene kits distributed, and 140 new water tanks installed to expand community access points.

Limited crossing points

Aid continues to enter through the two operational crossings, Kerem Shalom and Kissufim. On Wednesday alone, 127 UN-coordinated trucks were collected for distribution inside Gaza, carrying food, tents, medical supplies and fuel.

Mr. Haq emphasised that “more can and must be done”, urging Israel to open additional crossings, especially to the north, and to facilitate access for NGOs.

“We need full, safe and unrestricted humanitarian access,” he said. “The needs are immense – and they are growing by the day.”

Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the eastern European country in 2022, crucial infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged and hundreds of thousands of people have been impacted by the ongoing fighting, creating an urgent need for humanitarian aid.

“Children and families already facing extreme daily stress are now forced to endure yet another winter during wartime,” said Munir Mammadzade, The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF Representative to Ukraine.

According to UNICEF, Ukraine’s harsh winter conditions — often plunging to -20°C (-4°F) — together with the widespread destruction of housing, energy, and heating infrastructure, are making the cold season increasingly perilous for children.

Frontline communities

The areas most affected by cold during the winter are primarily concentrated in northern and eastern Ukraine.

These include regions along the frontline and the northern border, specifically Chernihivska, Dnipropetrovska, Donetska, Kharkivska, and Sumska. 

Almost half of the families in Ukraine rely on centralized water supplied heated by gas or coal, however since 2022, local heating infrastructure has sustained nearly $2.5 billion in damage, reports the children’s relief agency. 

To make matters worse, over the past three years, household poverty has risen by 15 per cent, now affecting over a third of Ukraine’s population, with children disproportionately impacted, around 70 per cent living in poverty.

UNICEF said the combination of rising poverty and harsh winter conditions significantly increases risks to children’s health and well-being, with one in five families reporting health problems linked to cold indoor temperatures.

Winter Response: lifesaving support 

“We’re working with local partners to provide support to vulnerable families and to minimize the impact of the winter months by keeping essential services running to protect children’s lives,” added Mammadzade.   

UNICEF Ukraine’s 2025-26 winter response plan focuses on the “efficacy of cash transfers” to households and schools, as well as the sustainable impact of local heating repairs and upgrades, including three core areas:  

• Cash for winterization assistance targeting 272,000 people, including around 122,000 children, from vulnerable households in frontline areas and children with specific needs such as child protection concerns.
• Cash grants for 600 education facilities, covering some 250,000 students, to support winter-related expenditures.
• Equipment and emergency repairs to strengthen district heating systems and ensure sustainable heating for one million people, including 170,000 children. 

Challenges ahead 

Challenges remain regarding limited funding, inconsistent access to certain regions, widespread infrastructure destruction, and the unpredictability of hostilities. 

UNICEF is seeking $65 million to support over one million people, as part of the broader 2025–2026 UN winter response plan, which requires $277.7 million to continue delivering aid to the most vulnerable. 

Read more about how the UN is supporting Ukrainians during the winter: REACH 2025–2026 Cold Spot Risk Assessment 

In an alert, the UN agency warned that it faces having to make “drastic cuts” to life-saving food assistance, which may “grind to a halt” in the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya in the coming months as resources run out.

WFP noted that the situation for many Sudanese refugees is already dire, more than two years since war erupted between Sudan’s national army and paramilitary rebels.

“In Uganda, many vulnerable refugees are surviving on less than 500 calories a day” – less than a quarter of daily nutritional needs – as new arrivals strain refugee support systems, WFP said. In Chad, which hosts almost a quarter of the four million refugees who fled Sudan, food rations will be reduced in the coming months without new contributions.

Vulnerable youngsters

Children are particularly vulnerable to sustained periods of hunger and malnutrition rates among young refugees in reception centres in Uganda and South Sudan have already breached emergency thresholds. According to WFP, refugees are already severely malnourished even before arriving in neighbouring countries to receive emergency assistance.

“This is a full-blown regional crisis that’s playing out in countries that already have extreme levels of food insecurity and high levels of conflict,” said Shaun Hughes, WFP Emergency Coordinator for the Sudan Regional Crisis.

“Millions of people who have fled Sudan depend wholly on support from WFP, but without additional funding we will be forced to make further cuts to food assistance. This will leave vulnerable families, and particularly children, at increasingly severe risk of hunger and malnutrition.”

Reuters

Getty Images

Getty Images

Satisfaction rates with GP services have plummeted to their lowest level on record and latest figures show one in six patients waiting more than two weeks for an appointment.

Less than 10% of the NHS budget is spent on GP services and British Medical Association members launched a “work-to-rule”, including capping patient appointments, in the summer, over what the union says is a lack of funding.

BMA GP leader Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer said: “These stats demonstrate how GP practices have been expected to keep doing more for less. General practice is collapsing.”

NHS England said: “We recognise that too many people struggle to get an appointment as quickly as they would like, and in some parts of the country surgeries are struggling to recruit the staff they need.”

Overall, the numbers of patients per GP have fallen slightly compared with last year, after an uptick in recruitment.

But despite a growing and ageing population, the number of permanent GPs, excluding locums and trainees, is just over 1,000 lower now, at 27,193 full-time equivalents, than in 2015.

The numbers in training, though, have increased and Labour has promised to boost that further, while getting pharmacists to do more to treat minor health problems, to ease some of the pressure on GPs – they are already taking on responsibility for ailments such as sore throats, shingles and some urinary tract infections.

GPs have also been given money to take on extra staff, including nurses and physiotherapists.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said the new government had also cut red tape to make it easier to recruit doctors.

“This government is determined to work with the NHS to fix the front door of our health service and ensure everyone can access GP services,” she added.