All roads to the city are now closed due to the fighting, and no commercial supplies are getting through.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nearly a quarter of a million people have lost access to essential healthcare due to lack of supplies, including more than 186,000 children under the age of five and 23,000 pregnant women, according to the UN\u2019s aid coordination office (OCHA<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n Twelve hospitals are at risk of closing, while the demand for healthcare is only rising due to the worsening living conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n In just a week, more than 1,400 cases of acute diarrhoea and suspected cholera \u2013 which mostly spreads through contaminated water \u2013 have been reported.<\/p>\n Displacement crisis\u00a0<\/p>\n Across the country, the displacement crisis is also deepening.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nearly 300,000 people have been forced from their homes since the beginning of August, while 5.2 million \u2013 out of a total of around 42 million people \u2013 were already displaced in the country before the latest escalation this summer, according to OCHA<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The office has provided around 254,000 displaced people with food, hygiene supplies and emergency cash assistance.<\/p>\n Afghanistan: funding shortages close vital healthcare services<\/p>\n In Afghanistan, UN aid teams are warning that vital health centres are being forced to scale back or close, because of funding cuts to humanitarian services.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In an alert, OCHA said that remote communities like those in Badakhshan province in the country\u2019s far northeast face long and dangerous journeys to reach care.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are needs, particularly severe and extreme needs that are on the increase in many parts of the country,\u201d said OCHA spokesperson Olga Cherevko, describing a \u201cworrying\u201d increase in malnutrition in the province\u2019s Kishim District Hospital.<\/p>\n She noted that the hospital lacked the resources needed to provide adequate support to patients who depend on them.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOften there is simply nowhere else left to turn,\u201d she stressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Afghanistan remains one of the world\u2019s largest humanitarian crises, with nearly 22 million people needing assistance. Food is available but it is too expensive for millions of Afghans, the UN agency said in a recent update.<\/p>\n Western Sahara: UN sets out phased closure of MINURSO mission<\/p>\n The UN will repatriate some 160 military observers and close 13 facilities and team sites in Western Sahara as it winds down its peacekeeping mission there,\u00a0MINURSO<\/a>, UN Spokesperson St\u00e9phane Dujarric said on Monday.<\/p>\n The mission ceased operations after Security Council<\/a> members did not renew its mandate, and\u00a0its liquidation period began on Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n A smaller team reporting to the UN Department of Operational Support will oversee the \u201corderly and environmentally responsible\u201d closure and handover of the sites, in phases.<\/p>\n Around 180 civilian and affiliated personnel will also leave. UN property and equipment will be disposed of or transferred, communications and logistics systems taken down, mission records archived and local contracts closed.<\/p>\n The UN will keep administrative, financial and security oversight throughout, while protecting the safety of all personnel, Mr. Dujarric told reporters in New York.<\/p>\n Restraint urged<\/p>\n