UN call to expand refugee resettlement lifeline
16/6/2026: In 2025, approximately 37,000 refugees departed to a new country through the UN's global resettlement programme, down significantly from more than 116,000 in 2024 and only a fraction of over two million refugees seeking a new home. An urgent expansion of refugee resettlement is needed.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
Over 28,000 contacts of Ebola cases aren’t being tracked
16/6/2026: The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has warned of major gaps in surveillance of people who have been in contact with the 827 confirmed positive cases of Ebola. In addition to the complex conflict zone where the outbreak is occurring, there are no vaccines or therapeutics for this species of Ebola.
Source: Devex
Global surge in attacks on schools
15/6/2026: At least 8,500 attacks on education took place globally in 2024-2025, a more than 40 percent increase from the previous two-year period, according tothe Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack. In Ukraine alone, more than 900 attacks on schools were recorded and, by the end of 2025, nearly all schools in Gaza were damaged or destroyed.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Plea for leaders to finalise pandemic agreement
15/6/2026: At the G7 summit in France the Director-General of the World Health Organization, and Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, issued a joint letter urging world leaders to finalise an agreement on how to deal with future pandemics. The draft treaty is delayed by disagreement on how to share information on pathogens, and what access to vaccines nations should be guaranteed in return.
Source: The Guardian
Aid is being replaced by investment, a dangerous mistake
15/6/2026: The executive director of Oxfam International deplores the deepest cuts in foreign aid on record, precisely as billionaire wealth reaches record highs. Forcing aid to serve the interests of both the donor and recipient country, whilst relying on private finance to fill the gaps. is a flawed strategy.
Source: Devex
Global refugee numbers declined in 2025
11/6/2026: The UN Refugee Agency's annual Global Trends Report shows that global refugee numbers declined in 2025 by 3 per cent to 41.6 million. This is the first reduction in a decade. The largest hosts of refugees and other people in need of international protection in 2025 were Colombia, Germany and Türkiye.
Source: The UN Refugee Agency
New data shows HIV services not recovering
9/6/2026: The Clinton Health Access Initiative has released new data showing steep declines in HIV services across countries in Africa and Asia following cuts in support from the US government and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This wind-down in support has put 11 of the 14 countries examined at medium-to-critical risk.
Source: Devex
Ambitious new funding cycle of Global Environment Facility approved
5/6/2026: The Global Environment Facility has secured initial pledges of $3.9 billion for the four-year cycle running from 2026 to 2030. The funding will assist developing countries to meet their environmental commitments to sustainable agrifood systems.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Bonn climate negotiations must act on commitments to protect human rights
5/6/2026: Forthcoming talks in Bonn matter because they will shape the level of ambition in COP31 later this year. Amnesty International calls on governments to commit to a phase out of fossil fuels through a just transition, to scale up grants-based climate finance; and provide full reparations for climate change related loss and damage.
Source: Amnesty International
Scramble for biofuel could accelerate global food crisis
5/6/2026: Demand for biofuels is likely to leap by nearly a third this year as the price of oil has risen to nearly $100 a barrel. Biofuels compete with food crops for land, stoking food price inflation and shortage. Generating renewable energy is a far more efficient use of land than growing crops for fuel.
Source: The Guardian