Melissa Fleming

3 years of brutal war turned Sudan into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. Around 19.5 million people are facing high levels of acute food insecurity. Over 8.9 million have been internally displaced.

“This is not COVID.” The risk of #hantavirus spreading to the general population is “absolutely low,” @who.int stresses, as its experts coordinate the global response to the virus. news.un.org/en/story/202...

When journalists are attacked, democracy is weakened and human rights erode, as citizens cannot make informed choices & polarization grows. Protecting them is not optional – is essential for safe, informed societies.

Shocking: Restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment in Afghanistan could lead to a loss of over 25,000 female teachers and health workers by 2030. More than one million girls have already been denied their right to learn.

Deeply alarming findings: Human development in Gaza has been set back by a staggering 77 years. $71.4 billion will be needed over the next decade to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure and support economic recovery.

2025 was the deadliest year yet for maritime movements of Rohingya refugees. Over 6,500 Rohingya attempted perilous sea crossings. 1 in 7 were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea & Bay of Bengal – the highest mortality rate worldwide of any major route for refugee & migrant sea journeys.

There is an alarming rapid rise in the volume of AI-generated sexualised images circulating, including cases where photographs of children have been manipulated and sexualised. Deepfake abuse is abuse, and its harm is real.

As cyberstalking, gendered disinformation, and AI-driven deepfakes escalate, 1.8 billion women and girls chave no access to legal protection from digital abuse. Adolescent girls face some of the greatest risks. Stop digital abuse. They need support, accountability, safety.

On Wednesday, at UN Headquarters in Geneva, I had the pleasure to meet this year’s Young Activist Summit laureates — Salvino, Rena, Dev, Aminata, and Marina. These remarkable young changemakers are showing us all that a better world is already taking shape.

The International Justice Court delivered an Advisory Opinion concluding that Israel is required to: "ensure that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services.”

The court called on Israel to also “respect and protect” all aid workers, medical personnel and facilities.

Gaza’s health system is near collapse and is struggling to treat the nearly 42,000 people with life-changing war injuries. This includes 10,000 kids. The @who.int is appealing to bring in more medical supplies and assistive devices.

As we gear up for the #UNGA, I got to interview my boss - UN Secretary-General António Guterres on what he expects from world leaders here - in “our house”, at UN Headquarters in New York, next week.

“The world is only one, and what happens in any part of the world will have an effect in our own lives. Our house is our world, and the problems anywhere in the world are our problems,” he told me during our conversation.

I am so proud of my fantastic UN Department of Global Communications team for all their hard work ahead of the the General Assembly. As world leaders and change makers gather here in New York, we will be streaming, photographing, live blogging, interviewing, posting and hosting events and panels.

Inspiring moment at UN Headquarters in New York today as the 80th session of the General Assembly opened under the theme “Better Together”.

Monday marked 8 years since over 700,000 Rohingya were forced by unimaginable violence & brutality to flee their homes in Myanmar. Every year as we approach this tragic anniversary, I cannot stop thinking of the traumatized refugees I met in Cox’s Bazar, the biggest, most congested camp on earth.