Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, hit southwestern Jamaica on 28 October as a Category 5 system—the worst hurricane to hit the area since 1988—before crossing into eastern Cuba as a Category 3 the following day.
Supported business-to-business linkages with 40 cooperatives through 15 promotional campaigns; and established a brand and two farmers’ markets, run by the Palestinian Agricultural Cooperatives Union (PACU), where the cooperatives can sell their items directly to West Bank consumers.
As the extent of the damage becomes clearer, the impact continues to grow in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Granma — the two most severely hit by Hurricane Melissa.
More than 54,000 people remain evacuated, 7,500 of them in state centers.
• One week after Hurricane Melissa passed through, more than 50 communities in the eastern region remain cut off due to flooding and infrastructure damage, according to Civil Defense reports.
In 2025, over 16.5 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 2.5 million displaced returnees who have lost their homes and livelihoods.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) today released new geospatial analysis revealing extensive and worsening damage to the agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip.
As of 30 October, an estimated 1,024,500 people have been affected by flooding across 29 counties in six states. Jonglei and Unity states account for nearly 87 per cent of those impacted.
Mental Health Matters – Awareness Program by Medrar Foundation and LAU Civic Engagement Students
In partnership with the Lebanese American University (LAU) Civic Engagement Students, Medrar Foundation launched a community initiative titled “Mental Health Matters.” The program aimed to break the stigma surrounding mental health in Lebanon and to equip individuals—especially youth and parents—with practical coping tools to manage stress, anxiety, and emotional distress during economic and social hardships.
One year since the hostilities escalated in Lebanon on 23 September 2024, the security situation remains volatile. Over 150,000 people remain internally displaced from their villages, struggling with rising rents and economic hardship.
The second dekad of October usually signals the shift from the summer monsoon to a cooler, drier winter—a critical transition as one season ends and the next begins. However, current forecasts raise an agrometeorological concern that continued precipitation in some areas could disrupt crop harvests.
In collaboration with the Lebanese American University’s Civic Engagement students, Medrar Foundation launched an awareness program titled “Health on a Budget”, aimed at educating communities on how to maintain and improve their health through affordable and practical approaches.
In Government of Yemen (GoY) -controlled areas, recent central bank policies temporarily boosted the Yemeni riyal’s value and slightly lowered food prices; however, these gains are unlikely to be sustained without comprehensive economic reforms to address trade deficits, foreign exchange reserve gaps, and foreign currency shortages.
During the night of 16–17 September 2025, heavy rains fell across most communes of the Nord-Ouest department, causing the Trois-Rivières River in Port-de-Paix to overflow suddenly. The floods resulted in extensive inundations across several neighborhoods in Port-de-Paix and Bassin-Bleu.
Between 31 August and 5 September 2025, Sierra Leone experienced devastating flash floods across 17 communities in seven districts including Bonthe, Kenema, Bo, Moyamba, Kono, Falaba, and Koinadugu.
The objective is to improve livelihoods and increase resilience to climate change and agricultural productivity for vulnerable farming households in Wadi al Ayn.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Government of Sudan, has launched the 2025 national livestock vaccination campaign to safeguard livelihoods of over three million pastoralists and agro-pastoralists across the country gripped by a major food crisis.
On 20 August 2025, the Bolivian government declared a national emergency through Supreme Decree No. 5447 in response to the escalating wildfire crisis. Santa Cruz and Beni have been identied as the most affected departments.
August has brought much wetter conditions across the country, improving crop and pasture conditions but also increasing flood risk and leading to expansion of flood areas.
South Sudan faces an escalating food crisis, driven by ongoing conflict, frequent climate shocks and economic instability. These overlapping challenges have deepened food insecurity across the country, putting millions at risk and straining already limited resources.
