World News in Brief: Aid deliveries to Gaza restricted, UN prepares El Nino response, El Salvador eliminates disease

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is calling for greater humanitarian access to Gaza, warning that restrictions on aid deliveries, ongoing violence and funding shortages are severely limiting its ability to reach people in need.

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Reporting from a recent aid convoy mission, WFP Country Director for Palestine Shaun Hughes said that with only one crossing open at Kerem Shalom, all supplies destined for northern Gaza must travel through the south along damaged and heavily congested roads. 

“Because of the security situation there’s only certain roads that we can use inside the Gaza Strip… everything that we need to deliver to the north needs to come through here as well,” he said.

Aid obstacles

The appeal comes as the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) warns that insecurity, airstrikes and repeated displacement continue to hamper relief efforts. 

The agency also reported that funding shortfalls have led to a 37 per cent drop in the number of families receiving shelter assistance between May and June, while shortages of fuel, generators and other critical equipment are disrupting humanitarian operations.

According to Gaza health authorities, more than 1,080 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured since the ceasefire agreement announced on 10 October 2025.

UN prepares $100 million response as El Niño threatens millions

The UN is preparing to release up to $100 million in emergency funding as forecasts warn that a new El Niño weather pattern could bring severe droughts, floods and extreme heat to vulnerable communities across Latin America, Eastern and Southern Africa, Asia and the Pacific.

In a statement on Monday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher warned that the coming El Niño could be even more severe than the 2023–24 event, which left tens of millions of people in need of food, nutrition, clean water, sanitation, healthcare, agricultural support and protection.

“It comes on top of widespread conflict, rising numbers of people on the move, and as soaring fuel, fertilizer and food prices are squeezing the most vulnerable families – while the humanitarian system reels from deep cuts” he said.

The UN has already allocated more than $20 million for anticipatory action in six countries through its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Increasing risks

Calling for greater investment in early action, Mr. Fletcher stressed that acting before disasters strike is both more effective and less costly than responding after the damage is done. 

“The choice is clear: we can wait for disaster, or we can invest in resilience” he said.

He also urged stronger support for displaced communities and more ambitious climate action.

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El Salvador has eliminated blinding eye disease

The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated El Salvador as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, making it the first country in Central America and the second on the continent overall to achieve the milestone against the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.

The validation follows a rigorous multi-year assessment that found no evidence of active transmission between 2023 and 2026, with no cases detected in children and no advanced disease capable of causing blindness found in adults.

Trachoma spreads through contact with the eye and nasal discharge from infected people. Repeated infections can cause the eyelashes to turn inward, eventually leading to irreversible blindness if left untreated.

WHO Director-General Tedros congratulated all Salvadorians, calling the achievement “a testament to the power of political commitment, strategic investment, and community engagement.”

Global fight continues

El Salvador has strengthened surveillance, primary healthcare, eyecare services, and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes to help prevent the disease from returning.

The country’s success marks an important step toward the global goal of eliminating trachoma worldwide by 2030.

Trachoma remains a public health problem in some of the world’s poorest and most remote communities.