Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Since the start of 2026, more than 300,000 people have been forced from their homes in South Sudan, with repeated displacement hindering recovery, according to the UN migration agency, IOM. Humanitarian agencies are focusing on aid delivery in the worst-affected counties of Ayod, Duk, Nyirol, and Uror in Jonglei state. The World Food Programme and partners have distributed food to those displaced, while UNICEF and its partners have resumed life-saving nutrition supplies, including high-energy biscuits and Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, to remote areas. Efforts are underway to pre-position food, health, and nutrition supplies before the rainy season from April to October, which typically isolates communities. Nearly 10 million people—over three-quarters of the population—are estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2026. The $1.5 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan has received just $351 million, less than a quarter of the funding required, prompting calls for urgent donations to address life-threatening food insecurity risks in South Sudan.
Meanwhile, the Philippines is intensifying efforts to shut down online scam centers, with help from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Filipino authorities have reportedly freed about 6,000 people, including over 3,000 foreign nationals, from such centers. The UN's involvement has included developing new operating procedures, focusing on a victim-centered approach. This aims to address previous gaps that complicated prosecutions and ensures victims are recognized as survivors of trafficking rather than as offenders. Scam compounds have spread across Southeast Asia, often luring people with fake job offers and coercing them into online fraud—typically as part of wider criminal enterprises. The UN states that effective government action, combined with UN support, can produce real progress in tackling these operations.