By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 11 2025 – Since the breakdown of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to significant bombardment and blockages of humanitarian aid. With aid deliveries having been halted from entering the Gaza Strip for over one month, roughly two million Palestinians have been relying on dwindling resources, facing heightened risks of malnutrition and disease.

On April 10, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed a letter from over 1,000 current and retired Israeli Air Force reservists that called for an end to the war. Describing the extended warfare as “marginal and extremist”, the soldiers urged Israeli authorities to prioritize the retrieval of Israeli hostages rather than continuing hostilities.

“As has been proven in the past, only a [ceasefire] deal can bring back the hostages safely, while military pressure mainly leads to the killing of the hostages and the endangerment of our soldiers. Currently, the war serves mainly political and personal interests, not security interests,” said the soldiers in the letter to Netanyahu.

In a social media statement shared to X (formerly known as Twitter), Netayahu supported the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff in dismissing the soldiers who signed the letter. Additionally, Netanyahu rejected the statement, criticizing it for weakening the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and strengthening its enemies.

“This is an extremist fringe group that is once again trying to break Israeli society from within. They already tried to do this before October 7th, and Hamas interpreted the calls for refusal as weakness,” added Netanyahu.

On April 8, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a situation update on the conditions in the Gaza Strip. According to the update, deliveries of humanitarian aid have been blocked from entering Gaza since March 2, marking the longest blockade since the start of the war in 2023.

Essential resources, such as food, shelter, medical supplies, and clean water, are dwindling at a rapid pace. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that malnutrition, disease, and preventable child deaths are projected to surge as Palestinians survive on critically low rations.

“UNICEF has thousands of pallets of aid waiting to enter the Gaza Strip,” said UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder. “Most of this aid is lifesaving – yet instead of saving lives, it is sitting in storage. It must be allowed in immediately. This is not a choice or charity; it is an obligation under international law.”

According to UNICEF, complementary food rations for infants has been depleted entirely in central and southern Gaza. All that remains for young children in these areas is a small supply of ready-to-use infant formula that will cover 400 children for one month. Approximately 10,000 small children under six months that require supplemental feeding will be forced to find alternatives “mixed with unsafe water”, which increases risks of malnutrition and waterborne illness.

In early April, 25 bakeries that were supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) were forced to close as a result of a depleted supply of flour and fuel. Continued orders of evacuation have resulted in the closure of 15 percent of all nutrition sites in the enclave, disrupting treatment for approximately 350 children struggling with acute malnutrition. It is estimated that nutrition screenings for children have dropped by roughly 30 percent, reaching only 58,000 children in March, marking a drop of 25,000 from February.

As a result of the breakdown of the ceasefire, humanitarian organizations have been forced to abandon work on critical water and sanitation infrastructures, with many having been left non-functional and at risk of further damage. In central and southern Gaza, desalination plants have reduced their output of clean water production by 85 percent due to power cuts. In northern Gaza, families survive on the remainder of water from trucks of previous aid deliveries.

Furthermore, the average daily allowance of drinking water for over 1 million people, including 400,000 children, has decreased from 16 litres to 6. It is estimated that if resources are depleted in the coming weeks, daily water consumption per person could drop below 4 liters.

Due to renewed hostilities and evacuation orders, UNICEF has been forced to scale back services in mental health, psychosocial support, mine awareness education, and child protection. Additionally, Gaza’s healthcare system has been pushed to the brink of collapse. Medical facilities have been forced to shut down or operate at a semi-functional level due to widespread insecurity and displacement orders, endangering the lives of thousands of Palestinians in the enclave.

According to a press release from the World Health Organization (WHO), there are roughly 55,000 pregnant women in Gaza, one-third of which struggle with high-risk pregnancies. 20 percent of newborns are born prematurely, underweight, or with birth complications, and are faced with a lack of neonatal care. Additionally, essential medical resources, such as blood units, anesthesia, ultrasound machines, oxygen pumps, incubators, ventilators, medications, and vaccines are in extremely short supply.

Additionally, thousands of Palestinians are endangered by bombardments, artillery shellings, and unexploded ordnance in the Gaza Strip. According to estimates from Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH), roughly 1,400 Palestinians have been killed and 3,500 were injured in Gaza since the deterioration of the ceasefire. In April, there have been numerous reports of attacks on schools, hospitals, and civilian shelters, which constitute violations of international humanitarian law.

PAH estimates that over 2 million people in Gaza are currently in danger due to hostilities from the IDF. In the last three weeks alone, over 400,000 people have been forcibly displaced. Roughly 65 percent of the Gaza Strip is subject to evacuation orders from the IDF.

“As aid has dried up, the floodgates of horror have reopened. Gaza is a killing field – and civilians are in an endless death loop,” said United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres. “With crossing points into Gaza shut and aid blockaded, security is in shambles and our capacity to deliver has been strangled…It is time to end the dehumanization, protect civilians, release the hostages, ensure life saving aid, and renew the ceasefire”.

IPS UN Bureau

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By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Apr 11 2025 – More than 13,600 participants from around the world registered for the inaugural CGIAR Science Week at the UN Complex, Nairobi, April 7-12, 2025. Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, the organization’s Executive Managing Director, said, “This is a testament that people are thirsty for science and for good news.”

“They are thirsty for hope, and that’s what science brings. And that’s also what CGIAR brings. We bring solutions to the country level and the community where science could really thrive.”

Through a video message, Amina J. Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, said the science conference has come just a few months ahead of the 2nd United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“We will have the chance to reflect on the progress we’ve made and, more importantly, chart the way forward. Progress on the SDGs requires accelerating the transition to sustainable food systems. Partnerships are essential in accelerating progress, bringing together diverse expertise to drive science-based solutions,” she observed.

Stressing that by aligning research with policy and action and working with partners like CGIAR and the high-level panel of experts on the Committee on the Role of Food Security, “We are building food systems that are resilient, sustainable, and inclusive, ensuring lasting impact in the face of climate change and global hunger.

“Yet we must also remain mindful of the challenges we face, such as geopolitical tensions, the impacts of climate change, economic uncertainty, and the urgent need for a reformed international financial architecture that supports these efforts.”

Reflecting on the past five days, Dr. Eliud Kiplimo Kireger, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), the conference co-host, said the past week provided a critical platform for dialogue, collaboration, and innovation, bringing together global leaders, researchers, and partners to address the pressing challenges of food security.

Observing that the discussions underscored the role of science, technology, and partnerships in transforming food systems for a more sustainable and equitable future. Stressing that the event has “uniquely convened agriculture, climate, and health stakeholders to address interconnected challenges threatening food security and sustainability. By integrating these domains, we have moved beyond cycle approaches to systemic solutions.”

Further emphasizing that the Science Week showcased transformative tools from AI-driven architectural decision-making to climate-smart groundbreaking technologies that are ready for scaling and that “these innovations provide actionable pathways to resilience… the next step is prioritization of localized adaptations of proven technologies, particularly for smallholder farmers.”

Juergen Voegele, Vice President, World Bank/Chair of the CGIAR System Council, told participants that as populations continue to grow, the need for CGIAR’s role is stronger than ever as increasingly severe weather events make food production more and more risky. And growing conflict around the world makes more and more people food insecure.

“And changing trade policies, as we see in the last few days, will affect hundreds of millions of people. At the same time, we see a decline in public spending for the needs of poor countries broadly. That also means competition for scarce research dollars is much fiercer now. For us as a CGIAR system, it becomes ever more critical to have a compelling narrative.”

Voegele said investing in agricultural research has the highest return on the dollar and is a key part of the solution to a changing climate, migration, and conflict and that “we do need to tell a story about how many lives drought-resistant wheat varieties save or flood-tolerant rice or nutrition-dense crops. It is impact and scale that matter and will be the most convincing in lower capitals.

“And we must ask ourselves some fundamental questions. For starters, is our new research portfolio still 100 percent relevant or do we need to prioritize even more for impact?”

Dr. Rachel Chikwamba, Group Executive for Advanced Chemistry and Life Sciences at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), affirmed that CGIAR is uniquely positioned to serve and complement ongoing initiatives through its extensive network of partnerships, and it remains a leader in fostering collaborative efforts to address these seemingly intractable global challenges.

“They have done it for the past 50 years in a shifting environment, and they continue to do this so very proudly, as we have witnessed this past week. For the youth that are in the room, I hope you have been inspired, and I do hope you take up careers in science and technology; in particular, I hope you take up careers in agriculture,” she said.

“You have seen what is possible, you have seen the role of technology therein, and you have seen its potential to transform not just our lives, but indeed how we engage the youth and how the youth can take charge of our common destiny.”

No matter how complex the issues in the agrifood systems, the world must listen to what the scientists are saying, and they are saying that the solutions are in science, innovation, inclusion, and partnerships and that no one should be left behind.

CGIAR works with more than 3000 partners in nearly 90 countries around the world to advance the transformation of food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. Regional director generals from these partners supported the urgent calls for innovation, collaboration, and partnership.

The organization’s research centers include the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), The International Potato Center (CIP), AfricaRice, and The International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

In his closing remarks, Kenya’s Principal secretary state department for Agriculture, Dr. Paul Kiprono Ronoh, made an impassioned plea for youth to make a case for themselves and their involvement in resolving challenges in the agrifood systems. Further emphasizing that the time when decisions were made on behalf of farmers is long gone and that farmers must be at the table and at the center of developing and implementing innovative solutions.

“A crisis like this is an opportunity to find better solutions,” he said. “together we can transform science systems through science. Let us leave here inspired but also resolute in our commitment to using science, thus creating a future that is sustainable for generations to come. Kenya remains committed to being a leader in agricultural transformation and looks forward to working with all of you.”

IPS UN Bureau Report,

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