World News in Brief: Relief supplies for Myanmar, invest in Haiti, child migrant deaths in Italy

The flight was chartered by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and delivered tents and household items for some 16,000 people.

Myanmar continues to reel from the quake, which struck on 28 March. More than 3,600 people are now known to have died, with more than 5,000 injured and hundreds still missing.

Across Myanmar, more than nine million people – including 2.7 million children – are estimated to be the worst affected. Massive damage has also been reported to critical infrastructure, including over 190 healthcare facilities and more than 2,300 schools.  

In response, UN agencies have appealed for $275 million to assist affected communities, with UNHCR requesting $16 million to help 1.2 million people.

Migration agency chief appeals for greater support for Haiti 

The head of the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) has called for more support for Haiti, where gang violence and instability have displaced more than one million people – triple the number from just a year ago.

IOM Director-General Amy Pope made the appeal following a high-level visit to the country this week.

Gang violence across vast areas of the capital, Port-au-Prince, has forced families to flee repeatedly, leaving them without access to shelter, water or medical care.

This is happening as nearly 200 Haitians were deported back from neighbouring countries, straining already overwhelmed local systems.

Ms. Pope described the situation in Haiti as among the most complex and urgent crises in the world, with implications for regional and global stability.

“When we invest in humanitarian support, we don’t just save lives – we build resilience and safety to helps stabilize communities and reduce the conditions that cause forced migration,” she said.

One child a day dies migrating to Italy: UNICEF 

Over the past decade, an estimated 3,500 children have died or gone missing on the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossing from Libya to southern Italy – or roughly one child every day.

That’s according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which is highlighting the need for safer migration routes for boys and girls fleeing war, conflict, violence or extreme poverty.

Children account for nearly 17 percent of those who survive the perilous journey to Italy, said Nicola Dell’Arciprete, UNICEF Country Coordinator, speaking from Rome to journalists in Geneva.

The overwhelming majority, 70 per cent, travel alone without a parent or legal guardian, leaving them vulnerable to being trafficked, exploited or abused.  

“I saw this last week in Lampedusa, where there are children being crammed into dark unventilated cargo holds,” said Mr. Dell’Arciprete. 

UNICEF is working with the Italian authorities and other partners to meet children’s immediate needs and support their long-term integration into local communities. 

“Now governments must do more,” he said, urging them to fully implement the European Union (EU) Migration and Asylum Pact to prioritize the best interests of children.

He also called for ensuring other measures, including coordinated search and rescue efforts, safe disembarkation, and access to asylum services.