UN spokesperson summarizes global humanitarian needs, flags briefs on SDGs and Venezuela response

Steph, the U.N. spokesperson, opened the briefing on global developments and highlighted a mix of economic and humanitarian updates that U.N. agencies say require urgent attention.

She cited the World Investment Report 2026 from the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), saying “the recovery remains narrow, it remains fragile, and remains uneven,” and reporting that global foreign direct investment rose 6% to $1.6 trillion in 2025, with developed economies seeing an 11% increase while developing economies grew by roughly 2%.

Why it matters: The U.N. summary links modest global investment gains with lingering inequality in capital flows, which U.N. officials say could constrain recovery and the financing of sustainable development in lower-income countries.

Humanitarian crises and funding gaps were the briefing’s most urgent thread. Steph said Tom Fletcher, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, will travel to Venezuela for a four-day visit to meet survivors, frontline responders and senior government officials and will brief member states virtually from Caracas. On Venezuela’s humanitarian plan, she said the pre-earthquake response plan totaled $632 million and had received about $115 million before the earthquakes; reported funding stands at roughly $300 million after the quakes.

Steph also summarized assistance delivered by the World Food Programme (WFP), saying its teams have provided ready-to-eat kits to nearly 2,400 people, family food baskets to more than 4,100 people, roughly 5 metric tons of food to community kitchens, and that since response efforts began WFP has reached more than 25,000 people. She said WFP aims to reach up to 1,000,000 people in affected areas during the first three months of the response if funding allows.

On the occupied Palestinian territory, Steph warned that displacement continues as fighting advances in some areas, and that only “a quarter of the $4,100,000,000 required for humanitarian operations in the occupied Palestinian territory this year has been secured,” adding that medical and rehabilitation supplies face delays and denials at entry.

On Lebanon, she said Jean Arnault of the Office of the Special Coordinator for Lebanon began visits to Israel and Lebanon to press for consolidation of the cessation of hostilities and implementation of Security Council resolution 1701. The U.N. and the government launched a revised flash appeal requesting $6.64 billion to support 1.4 million people through August; Steph said the appeal is funded at 42 percent, leaving critical gaps.

Steph provided a brief update on Sudan diplomacy, saying Pekka Haavisto, the Secretary-General’s personal envoy for Sudan, is in Chad meeting senior officials and is expected to visit camps hosting Sudanese refugees before returning to Sudan for political talks.

Other notes: Steph summarized a World Meteorological Organization report finding that the Southwest Pacific is warming and acidifying with significant impacts on marine ecosystems and economies, and flagged that it is World Kiswahili Language Day. She closed by inviting questions.

During questions, a reporter asked about Cuba and the U.S. embargo; Steph reiterated that the Secretary-General and U.N. system are following humanitarian concerns there, that the U.N. has worked to facilitate fuel deliveries for humanitarian purposes, and recalled the General Assembly’s long-standing calls to end the embargo while urging dialogue and respect for international law.

What’s next: The spokesperson said a briefing on the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026 will be held at 12:45 p.m., and that Tom Fletcher will brief member states from Caracas the following morning at 08:30 a.m. New York time.