An Afghan student attends a classroom that was damaged in conflict before the Taliban took over the government, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 8 January 2024. (KeystoneEPA/Stringer)

In Geneva, following aid in conflict-struck countries is mission impossible. As a humanitarian hub, Geneva prides itself on its tradition of supporting aid and development initiatives. But tracking how public funding is spent can pose challenges for the authorities involved, as the case of one Geneva-based NGO facing accusations of fraud illustrates.

👥Summer profiles: recognising and supporting survivors of sexual violence. Esther Dingemans, executive director of the Global Survivors Fund, speaks about her work helping victims of conflict-related sexual violence from Sudan to Ukraine, Syria and Chad.

💉Polio vaccination targets surpassed for Gaza children, WHO says. More than 161,000 children under 10 have been vaccinated in central Gaza in the first two days of a campaign that is being carried out between pauses in fighting.

🇾🇪Yemen: UN appeals for immediate release of staff held by de facto authorities. A spokesperson for the UN’s human rights office told reporters in Geneva that the whereabouts of six staff members, detained since June by Houthi de facto authorities, were still unknown and called for their release.

🗓️Moscow court extends detention of Geneva NGO worker. A judge ruled on Tuesday to extend Laurent Vinatier’s detention by six months until February 2025. The French researcher, working for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, was arrested in June after being accused of gathering information about Russia’s military activities.

🇳🇮UN warns of serious deterioration in human rights in Nicaragua. A new report by the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva warns that arbitrary detentions, intimidation of detractors and abuse of prisoners continue in the country amid fears that a new law passed last week could be used to intimidate Nicaraguans in exile.