africatv.com/red-sea-a-hinge-between-west-asia-and-horn-of-africa/” title=”Red Sea: a hinge between West Asia and Horn of Africa”>africatv.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/GTM_092025_UNOCHA_Jocotan-200131.jpg” alt=”Santa Orfelinda Pérez stands in her drought-affected maize field in Jocotán, Guatemala. With El Niño back, vulnerable communities face renewed risks from extreme heat, droughts and floods. Photo: OCHA”>
Santa Orfelinda Pérez stands in her drought-affected maize field in Jocotán, Guatemala. With El Niño back, vulnerable communities face renewed risks from extreme heat, droughts and floods. Photo: UNOCHA
Statement on El Niño by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher
El Niño is back.
Extreme heat, droughts and floods are once again set to devastate communities across Latin America, Eastern and Southern Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
The last El Niño in 2023-24 left tens of millions of people in need of food, nutrition, water, sanitation, health, agricultural support and protection.
The forecasts are clear: this one looks even worse. It comes on top of widespread conflict, rising numbers of people on the move, and as soaring fuel, fertilizer and food prices are squeezing the most vulnerable families – while the humanitarian system reels from deep cuts.
We are ready to disburse up to US$100m from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to get ahead of this El Niño.
In support of that response, we are planning, implementing the lessons from the past, innovating, coordinating the humanitarian community and taking action. Our preparations are shaped by more sophisticated forecasts. More than $20 million has already been allocated for anticipatory action in six countries. Through CERF’s Climate Action Account, we are investing in vulnerable communities to better withstand the climate shocks ahead.
We need early, flexible financing – more effective and less costly in the long run – to match the scale of the risk. We ask for the world to prioritize conflict resolution and support to communities forced to flee. And we urge braver climate action in place of the short term and selfish decisions that are pushing us relentlessly towards the 1.5°C warming cliff edge.
The choice is clear: we can wait for disaster, or we can invest in resilience.
