ReliefWeb

Iraqi medical staff has already experienced high levels of violence over the past years, and the Covid-19 outbreak has exacerbated an already difficult situation.

Many of the newly displaced are now living in overcrowded, makeshift shelters constructed from old clothes, plastic bags, cardboard and sticks in already dire IDP sites.

"Sanctions should be lifted - or at a minimum eased - so people can get basics like soap and disinfectants to stay healthy and ... hospitals can get ventilators and other equipment to keep people alive."

UNHCR is making available its in-country stocks of shelter kits, plastic sheets, rub-halls, and thousands of other core relief items including blankets and mattresses for immediate distribution and use.

Half of Bangladesh is under water, leaving nearly one million families stranded. Flooding and landslides in Nepal have left 200 people dead or missing. In India, almost 12 million people are affected.

WHO health experts have arrived in South Africa to bolster its response to COVID-19. As the continent nears one million cases, WHO is expanding support to countries experiencing an uptick in cases.

UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon has released US$9 million from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund to address immediate needs and help strengthen the capacity of existing hospitals.

Action Against Hunger warns of a growing hunger crisis in Ethiopia. COVID-19 cases in the country have more than tripled in the past month, complicating hunger relief efforts.

With escalating inter-communal conflict and recent economic shocks associated with COVID-19, emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes are widespread at the July/August peak of the lean season.

At least 18 people were killed and 11 injured in the incident on Sunday 2 August when assailants threw an explosive device, thought to be a grenade, into the makeshift camp while people were sleeping.