Clashes in Jonglei State since early 2026 have displaced at least 250,000 people, mainly in the north and center of the state, leaving families without access to vital care in areas already suffering from some of the highest malnutrition rates in the country.
Deadly risks
“We are extremely concerned for the women and children affected by these violent clashes,” said UNICEF country representative Noala Skinner. “A malnourished and untreated child is 12 times more likely to die.”
Access for aid agencies remains very limited, with restrictions on river, road and air travel. Six Jonglei counties are already running out of therapeutic food, or close to it, while 17 health centers across the country have closed due to the conflict.
UNICEF has also recorded 10 incidents of looting of health and nutrition supplies.
Despite the challenges, UNICEF said it is responding, delivering water purification equipment amid concerns about cholera and sending malaria treatments, emergency health kits and therapeutic foods to reach more than 10,000 people.
UNICEF condemns deaths and injuries of children in Balochistan attacks
UNICEF has expressed serious concern over reports that children were among those killed and injured during a wave of violent attacks in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan last weekend.
“Children cannot be targets or suffer collateral damage, and their lives must always be protected,” said UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, Pernille Ironside, expressing her condolences to the affected families and communities.
He warned that the escalation of violence is spreading fear and that children and families “bear the heaviest burden.”
The attacks that took place on January 31 were also strongly condemned by the UN Security Council.
In a press release issued Tuesday, Council members described the incidents as “heinous and cowardly” acts of terrorism that left 48 dead, including 31 civilians.
The Council expresses its “deepest condolences”
The civilian victims reportedly included five women and three children. The separatist group called the Balochistan Liberation Army has claimed responsibility.
A senior local official told reporters that security forces had subsequently killed 145 members of the banned group.
The Council expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Pakistan, wishing those injured a full recovery.
World summit backs greater protection of undersea cables
Governments and industry leaders from more than 70 countries have reaffirmed the need to protect the undersea cables that carry the vast majority of the world’s digital traffic.
Meeting in Porto, Portugal, at the 2026 International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit, participants adopted a declaration and recommendations aimed at strengthening cooperation to safeguard the global network of around 500 cables stretching more than 1.7 million kilometres.
Read our explanation of the summit and what’s at stake. here.
“When it comes to critical digital infrastructure like undersea cables, resilience is both an end-to-end imperative and a shared responsibility,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, welcoming commitments to improve repair times, readiness and investment.
‘Significant impact’
The summit highlighted the importance of protecting connectivity in remote and underserved regions, which are particularly vulnerable to wiring disruptions.
“I firmly believe that (the advisory body) is already making a concrete and significant impact,” said ANACOM President Professor Sandra Maximiano, noting the risks faced by island countries and communities with limited capacity to respond to outages.
The Porto meeting followed the inaugural summit in Abuja, Nigeria, as momentum builds for global action to protect what many experts consider the backbone of the digital economy.