The United Nations has called for stronger global media engagement on humanitarian crises around the world, particularly the situation in Yemen.

The organisation said that limited international attention is hampering awareness and support, at a time when millions face deepening food insecurity, health risks and shrinking aid resources.

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Julien Harneis, made the call on Monday, during a news conference on the humanitarian situation in the country.

He warned that the situation in Yemen is expected to deteriorate further in 2026, amid worsening food insecurity, economic pressures and reduced funding for critical services.

Harneis noted that in 2025 alone, about 19.5 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance, while the Humanitarian Response Plan was only 28 per cent funded.

He attributed the bleak outlook to economic and political decisions that were exacerbating food insecurity across all parts of Yemen.

According to him, the worsening food situation is already manifesting in rising levels of malnutrition and increased pressure on the health system.

Harneis noted that Yemen’s health system had been supported by the United Nations, in collaboration with the World Bank for the past 10 years, but warned that this support would significantly reduce.

“We’re going to see a major change there, where the health system is not going to be supported in the way it has been in the past, and that is going to have very major consequences.

“Yemeni government lacks the capacity to finance and sustain the health system, leaving the country vulnerable to disease outbreaks.

“In a country which has already seen the highest rates of measles in the world, and which has frequently had cholera epidemics, we’re going to be very vulnerable to epidemics across the country, particularly in the North,” Harneis added.

The UN official said that humanitarian operations in northern Yemen were further complicated by the detention of 73 UN personnel as well as the seizure of UN offices.

He described the detentions as part of a broader pattern, noting that staff of international NGOs, embassy workers, activists and political actors, had also been detained often without public attention.

Harneis said that the UN was working with the broader humanitarian country team, including international and national NGOs, to explore how other organisations could step in to cover gaps left by the UN.

He, however, stressed that some capacities were unique to UN agencies.

“Only the UN agencies have the scale of response that is required for a country where, for example, 2,300 primary health care facilities have been supported by UN agencies.

“No INGO has the capacity to support all of that,” he said.

He acknowledged that the humanitarian community would attempt to restructure and reorganise its response, but described the current circumstances as “deeply challenging”.

On media coverage, Harneis said that while regional and Arabic-language media paid attention to developments in Yemen, there was limited access to areas outside government control.

He added that although humanitarian organisations regularly briefed the UN Security Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation, international media engagement remained insufficient.

“The international media is not engaging with Yemen in the way that is needed now and the UN also needs to do more outreach.”

He clarified that while food insecurity was a major concern, it was not the direct cause of death.

He argued that food insecurity contributes to malnutrition, but so do poor access to clean water and lack of access to healthcare services.

According to him, when these factors combine with poor socio-economic conditions, they result in malnutrition, leading to increased mortality and morbidity, especially among children.

Harneis consequently, identified Nutrition, public health at the primary healthcare level, as well as freedom and security, as key priorities for humanitarian actors.

No fewer than 5,000 intending Nigerian immigrants to the United States may be delayed following the new visa restrictions imposed on Nigeria and 74 other countries by President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Data from the US consulate in Lagos show that 5,626 immigrant visas were issued in 2023, up from 4,219 in 2022—an increase of 1,407 visas within a year.

An analysis indicates that at least 5,000 immigrant visas granted to Nigerians annually could be affected by the latest measure, which seeks to restrict the entry of foreigners intending to live in the United States.

Additionally, a total of 70,621 Nigerians were issued U.S. immigrant and non-immigrant visas in 2024.

A breakdown reveals that 63,313 non-immigrant visas were issued to Nigerians, with Abuja accounting for 30,222, while 33,091 were issued in Lagos. Also, 7,308 persons obtained US immigrant visas during the period.

Confirming the development, a State Department spokesperson said, “The State Department is pausing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries.”

The pause will begin on January 21 and will continue indefinitely until the review is complete.

The policy forms part of a wider entry suspension affecting countries regarded by Washington as posing screening and vetting difficulties or producing migrants who rely excessively on public benefits.

The latest development comes barely a week after the Trump administration imposed a visa bond requirement of up to $15,000 on nationals from 38 countries, including Nigeria, effective January 21, 2026.

The policy targets countries with high visa overstay rates and security concerns.

The State Department in a post on X on Wednesday announced the pause of immigrant visa processing from 75 countries, which it claimed the migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.

The post read, “The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people.

‘’The pause impacts dozens of countries – including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea – whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival. We are working to ensure the generosity

The affected countries include 27 African countries, 22 Asian countries, 8 European countries, 13 North American and Caribbean countries, three South American countries and one Oceania.

They are Algeria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Yemen.

Others are Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Syria, Thailand and Uzbekistan.

Also on the list are Albania, Belarus, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Grenadines, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Fiji.

State Department data show that global immigrant visa issuance climbed to 612,258 in 2024, up from 562,976 in 2023. Non-immigrant visa issuance also rose from 10,438,327 in 2023 to 10,969,936 in 2024.

The report further puts the global migrant visa issuance at 240,526 for the year 2020; 285,069 in 2021; 493,448 in 2022; 562,976 in 2023, and 612,258 in 2024.

Non-immigrant categories for 2020 were recorded as 4,013,210; 2, 792,083 for 2021; 6,815,120 in 2022; 10,438,327 in 2023, while 10,969,936 were recorded in 2024.

Meanwhile, in December, the US previously announced a partial visa ban on Nigeria alongside other countries.

In relation to Nigeria, the US policy cited persistent security challenges and overstays on temporary visas.

Referencing radical extremist activity in parts of the country, the proclamation stated that such conditions “create substantial screening and vetting difficulties. “It also referenced overstay rates contained in US government reports.

Consequently, the proclamation ordered that “the entry into the United States of nationals of Nigeria as immigrants, and as non-immigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas, is hereby suspended.”

It further directed consular officers to reduce the validity period for any other non-immigrant visas issued to Nigerian nationals.

The State Department stressed that visas already issued before the effective date of the proclamation would not be revoked under the new policy.

However, Nigerians outside the United States without valid visas at the time of implementation would be directly affected by the entry suspension.

Reacting to the restriction, former Nigerian Ambassador to Mexico, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, described the sweeping ban as a contradiction of America’s long-standing advocacy for the free movement of people and ideas.

He criticised the scale of the measure, stating that it is unbecoming to ban 75 countries’ citizens from travelling to the United States.

According to him, “Migration and immigration are as old as the human race, and for the US under Donald Trump to begin to rev up the anti-migration, anti-immigration policies which we are witnessing now is not helping to solve matters as far as human-to-human contacts are concerned.”

Ex-Ambassador Godknows Igali acknowledged Washington’s sovereign right to set its immigration policies, but urged the US to weigh the implications for bilateral relations.

He emphasised Nigerians’ positive contributions to US society, noting, “Nigerians have given a good account of themselves in the US, very disciplined, very hardworking. Almost all Nigerians are doing very well in the US. So, they are not a liability to the system.”

He urged sustained diplomacy, saying, “We advise the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to sustain discussion with them so that Nigeria can be removed from that list.”

Foreign affairs analyst Charles Onunaiju said the latest restriction reflects a deeper shift in US domestic politics and global posture.

“If you look at the United States and see what’s going on there with the so-called ICE picking up people in the streets, you could see chaos in US cities with these issues about immigration. So, it is not a surprise the extent to which the United States could go,” he said.

Onunaiju warned that the present period “is not a normal time” in US foreign relations, observing that even close allies have been affected

“Recently, the United States imposed a visa ban on key European officials. So, I think the worst has not happened yet. There could be more tightening. People should anticipate that. Trump campaigned and won on the basis of extremist anti-immigration posturing, and he is leveraging that.”

He added that Nigerians should “prepare for the worst”, stressing that the US President had recently stated that he did not recognise international law and was guided only by his “private morality.”

“We have to acknowledge that this is not a normal time and anything is possible between the United States and the rest of the world.”

Ex-ambassador Rasheed Akinkoulie observed that the sweeping ban did not apply to Nigerians applying for visas, arguing that the conditions are simply more stringent, citing the $15,000 visa bond.

‘’Government officials and diplomats who have to travel to the USA are still granted visas without any problem.”

The U.N. children’s agency on yesterday said over 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the October ceasefire, including victims of drone and quadcopter attacks.

UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said at a UN briefing in Gaza that “more than 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire of early October.

“Survival remains conditional, whilst the bombings and the shootings have slowed, have reduced during the ceasefire, they have not stopped.

He said that nearly all the deaths of the 60 boys and 40 girls were from military attacks including air strikes, drone strikes, tank shelling, gunfire and quadcopters and a few were from war remnants that exploded.

The tally is likely an underestimate since it is only based on deaths for which sufficient information was available, he said.