Five years since the Taliban seized power in Kabul, life for some Afghans has improved while many others suffer growing hardship.
Although many families in rural Afghanistan struggle to secure food and water, the UN's aid coordination office spokesperson Olga Cherevko said on Thursday that the chief concern is the continuing ban on girls' education.
"They told me that basically they had lost hope for their daughter's future and of course for themselves," Ms. Cherevko told UN News. "That really stayed with me because this is also a community struggling simply to make ends meet and to survive."
The senior humanitarian told UN News that Afghan women today have fewer opportunities to earn income than men, because of increasing restrictions placed on them by the de facto authorities.
As a result, women are finding it harder to support their families, while also having to cope with reduced opportunities to participate in life outside their homes, Ms. Cherevko said.
Obstacles to stability remain
In an assessment of the situation in Afghanistan on Thursday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan ( UNAMA ) said that the past five years of Taliban rule had brought a reduction in conflict and "tangible benefits" for some.
But significant obstacles to lasting stability remain, particularly the "increasingly damaging restrictions" on women and girls and ongoing terrorism concerns.
"The last five years have shown that Afghans deeply value peace and stability after decades of war," said UNAMA Officer-in-Charge Georgette Gagnon.
"Afghanistan's future depends on building a society in which the rights and potential of all Afghans are realised and institutions are responsive and accountable," she added.
Myanmar floods threaten to deepen hunger crisis: WFP
The UN World Food Programme ( WFP ) has launched an emergency response operation in Myanmar, where monsoon flooding threatens to push vulnerable communities deeper into hunger.
The agency has begun distributing fortified biscuits in Laymyethna Township, Ayeyarwady region in southwestern Myanmar.
Flooding caused by heavy rainfall there over the last two weeks has breached river embankments and inundated villages.
WFP rapid assessments have indicated that more than 32,000 people across nearly 100 villages have been affected.
Food assistance on the way
The 20 tons of fortified biscuits already dispatched to UN partners will provide immediate food assistance to 10,000 people.
"Flooding is a recurring threat, but this year it is impacting communities already battered by multiple underlying crises," said WFP Representative Michael Dunford.
The emergency represents a new challenge for Myanmar's people. An estimated 12.4 million people are already going hungry amid an ongoing civil war, displacement, economic hardship and high food prices.
WFP has appealed for urgent funding and sustained aid access to prevent the crisis from worsening.
UN urges global solidarity as Syria recovery reaches 'historic turning point'
A growing number of people displaced by the Syrian conflict are returning home, creating a critical juncture for the country's recovery, according to the head of the UN refugee agency ( UNHCR ) Barham Salih.
Well over a decade of conflict in Syria claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and led to one of the most serious global displacement crises of recent years.
Nearly four million Syrian refugees remain in Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, and 5.5 million people are still displaced inside Syria.
"Syria is at a historic turning point," said Mr. Salih. "More than three million Syrians have already returned from abroad or inside the country since December 2024, demonstrating their determination to rebuild."
He added that "recovery on this scale is a huge task, and Syria cannot do it alone. The international community must step in, and swiftly. Without this, a historic opportunity to help the country rebuild and to stabilise the region will be missed."
The Syrian Government wants a sustainable recovery, and is advocating a "No Tents, No Camps" vision.
UN on the ground
UNHCR is already collaborating closely with Syrian authorities and other development partners to address recovery needs.
It is providing shelter rehabilitation, restoration of basic services, legal and civil documentation, housing, land and property assistance, livelihoods programmes and cash assistance.
"Syrians are determined to rebuild," Mr. Salih said. "The international community must match that determination with sustained support."
Human rights experts condemn treatment of NY care workers
Independent UN human rights experts reiterated concerns on Thursday about what they describe as a Government-subsidised 24-hour workday system for homecare workers in New York City.
These care workers, who are predominantly migrant women, went on a hunger strike between late July and early August to protest having to work 24 hours a day while - in practice - being undercompensated under state law.
"We are seriously concerned that the reported system may enable exploitative practices and that it has a disproportionate impact on migrant women and their families," the UN Human Rights Council -appointed investigators said.
Under New York State's Medicaid-funded homecare system, employers must pay wages for 13 hours of a 24-hour shift, under the assumption that workers use the remaining 11 hours to eat and sleep.
Homecare system reflects inequalities
The experts noted that the concentration of migrant women in homecare "reflects the persistent undervaluation of care work and gendered inequalities in labour markets, which may expose women to heightened risks of exploitation and abuse."
The situation for homecare workers in New York could even amount to forced labour under International Labour Organization ( ILO ) standards, according to the independent experts, who receive no salary for their work from any UN entity and are not employed by any organization.
Local and state authorities must work to improve conditions, ensure access to effective remedies and reform or eliminate the 24-hour workday system in line with international human rights standards, the experts said.
"Homecare workers must be able to enjoy just, favourable and safe working conditions, adequate rest, fair remuneration, protection of their rights, and access to effective remedies," they said.
