Heavy rainfall since Saturday caused widespread flooding in Idleb and northern Latakia, Syria, damaging around 1,800 tents and destroying at least 150 in camps for displaced families. A local hospital suspended operations, with patients evacuated and mobile medical teams deployed. Authorities opened additional shelters to accommodate affected families, while humanitarian partners worked to relocate displaced people, repair shelters, and deliver emergency assistance including food and non-food items. During the response, a Syrian Arab Red Crescent staff member was killed and five others injured in a vehicle accident while assisting flood-affected communities.
The flooding occurs amid ongoing displacement in other regions of Syria. Although fighting has eased in Aleppo, Al-Hasakeh, and Ar-Raqqa following a 30 January accord, nearly 160,000 people remain displaced as of 3 February. Humanitarian access has improved in some areas, but challenges persist, including electricity outages disrupting water systems, intermittent telecommunications, limited food supplies, the threat of explosive ordnance, and suspended schooling.
In Cuba, Hurricane Melissa in late October 2025 caused widespread destruction affecting over two million people. The UN is calling for urgent funding to support humanitarian operations, as fuel shortages following the suspension of supplies from Venezuela are disrupting essential services and recovery efforts. The UN continues to work with the Cuban government to provide food, water, sanitation, and healthcare, but the Plan of Action launched in November 2025 to support recovery—seeking $74 million—is currently only 23 percent funded.
Meanwhile, international efforts to eliminate child labour are advancing, with the sixth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour scheduled in Morocco from 11 to 13 February. Hosted by the UN International Labour Organization (ILO), the conference brings together governments, employers, workers’ organizations, civil society, and international partners to confront the ongoing crisis affecting 138 million children worldwide, including 54 million engaged in hazardous work. Africa accounts for 87 million of these children, with agriculture as the largest driver of child labour.
ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo emphasized that children belong in school, not in work, and highlighted the importance of supporting parents with access to decent work to ensure children can attend school. While child labour has nearly halved since 2000 and declined by over 20 million since 2020, the world did not meet the Sustainable Development Goal target to eliminate child labour in all its forms by 2025.
