Worldwide, there are millions of people suffering in humanitarian crises. Many of these people are in urgent need of international assistance to survive. Most of these people suffer hidden from the eyes of the world public. At the start of 2025, some 307 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.
DONARE would like to draw your attention to some of the world's worst humanitarian crises. You will find concise profiles of humanitarian emergencies around the world on the following pages. The profiles include background information, summaries of the current humanitarian and security situation, and links to earmarked appeals for donations from United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations focusing on emergency relief.
Sudan Crisis
The scale of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Sudan is unprecedented. On April 15, 2023, conflict broke out between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, causing widespread displacement, hunger, and the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Over the course of twenty months, more than 12.3 million people have been displaced as a result of the ongoing war. The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance now stands at 30.4 million people - two-thirds of Sudan's population.
Palestine Crisis
The overall humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is marked by a protracted political crisis, characterized by 57 years of Israeli military occupation. In October 2023, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip deteriorated drastically following the start of a war by the Israeli military due to atrocities committed by Palestinian armed groups. For more than 15 months, an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe has been raging in Gaza, where civilians are dying from violence, disease, and starvation, and famine is imminent. On January 19, 2025, a ceasefire between Israel and the armed group Hamas went into effect.
Myanmar Crisis
Myanmar faces multiple, overlapping humanitarian needs caused by persecution, protracted armed conflict, intercommunal violence and natural disasters. Humanitarian needs in Myanmar have continued to mount due to ongoing armed violence and political unrest since the military coup in February 2021. The humanitarian situation remains dire, with more than one-third of the country's 57 million people estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2025.
Lebanon Crisis
In September 2024, hostilities in Lebanon were massively escalated by Israel, with thousands of airstrikes carried out widely across Lebanese territory. On November 27, a fragile ceasefire agreement came into effect. The escalation of the war caused significant civilian casualties and injuries, and triggered mass displacement, with more than 1.7 million people forced to flee. Before the recent deterioration of the situation throughout Lebanon, the country was already in the grip of a protracted humanitarian crisis.
Ethiopia Crisis
The overall humanitarian situation in Ethiopia has improved significantly in the past year, but 21.4 million people will still need emergency aid in 2024. Millions of Ethiopians remain displaced by conflict, insecurity, and climate-related shocks such as drought or flooding. Ethiopia faces multiple causes of instability. Years of drought and conflict have left millions of Ethiopians without enough to eat. Many people have no water, medicine, food or shelter and fear for their lives.
Ukraine Crisis
Within weeks, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has created one of the largest humanitarian disasters globally. As of December 2024, more than 39,000 civilians were recorded killed or wounded as a result of the war, while 11,000 civilians were recorded missing. Violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law occurring in the course of the ongoing armed attack are widespread. Millions of civilians fear for their lives. People in Ukraine continue to be killed, wounded and deeply traumatized by the violence. Civilian infrastructure on which they depend continues to be destroyed or damaged.
Yemen Crisis
Nearly ten years of armed conflict in Yemen have caused tens of thousands of civilian casualties and forced millions to flee their homes, making Yemen one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. More than half of the country's population - 19.5 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in 2025, with Yemen's most vulnerable and marginalized groups, including women and girls, at greatest risk.
Sahel Crisis
The Sahel region is facing one of the fastest-growing humanitarian crises in the world, with more than 35 million people in need of humanitarian aid in 2024. And at the same time, it is one of the most forgotten. Armed conflict, deteriorating security, political instability, and widespread poverty are the main drivers of unprecedented humanitarian needs, particularly in the central Sahel region, which includes the countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. This deteriorating humanitarian emergency is further compounded by the impact of the climate crisis and global food insecurity. Rapid climate changes are causing natural disasters to occur with increasing frequency and severity.
Somalia Crisis
People in Somalia are facing one of the most complex humanitarian crises in the world. The crisis is driven by conflict, displacement, food insecurity, political instability, climatic shocks, poverty and economic decline. A devastating drought in the country that began in 2020 reached unprecedented levels in 2022. Five consecutive rainy seasons had failed, the longest and most severe drought in Somalia’s recent history. While humanitarian needs in Somalia remain high, improved access to water and pasture in 2023 and 2024 has alleviated the impact of the severe and protracted historic drought.
Syria Crisis
The Syrian conflict is one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises worldwide, inflicting enormous human suffering on people inside and outside the country. Since 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed and maimed, and millions have been forced to flee their homes. On December 8, 2024, Syria experienced a dramatic and historic turn of events when rebel forces took control of the capital Damascus and President Bashar Assad resigned and fled the country following a swift 11-day rebel offensive across the country, raising hopes of an end to the nearly 14-year civil war.
Afghanistan Crisis
Three years after the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan remains in the grip of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Millions of people in Afghanistan are experiencing misery and hunger in the midst of decades of conflict. The cumulative effects of violent conflict, internal displacement, drought and other natural disasters have dramatically increased humanitarian needs throughout Afghanistan. The country is vulnerable to natural disasters, including floods and earthquakes.
South Sudan Crisis
South Sudan is in the midst of a dire humanitarian crisis driven by years of brutal civil war. Nearly 400,000 South Sudanese died as a result of the conflict that began in December 2013. Atrocities and attacks on civilians, including widespread sexual violence, defined the civil war. More than half of South Sudan's population is facing crisis or worse levels of hunger and in need of urgent humanitarian aid. Extensive flooding, violence and disease outbreak continue to impact people across the country.
Haiti Crisis
In Haiti, millions of people are in need of humanitarian assistance to fight hunger amid a deteriorating security situation where armed gangs control or influence up to 90 percent of the capital. The country has a long history of natural disasters and remains highly vulnerable to hurricanes, earthquakes and floods. In 2025, half of Haiti's population, some 6 million people, are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 3.3 million children.
Crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are suffering from one of the most complex and protracted humanitarian crises, with 21.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2025. At the same time, the DRC faces one of the world's most neglected displacement crises, with more than 8 million women, children, and men in the country forced to flee their homes. For decades, the DR Congo has endured multiple, overlapping crises, mainly driven by conflict and forced displacement, both of which are having devastating consequences.
Central African Republic Crisis
The Central African Republic (CAR) has been among the most neglected humanitarian crises in the world for several years in a row. The country has been troubled by violent unrest since 2012. More than half of its population – 56 percent - required humanitarian aid in 2023. While insecurity and violence against civilians continue to force Central Africans to flee their homes, humanitarian and development actors are helping many internally displaced persons and refugees to resume a normal life after several years of displacement.
Colombia Crisis
Eight years after the peace accord between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was signed, the humanitarian situation in Colombia is still marked by large scale internal displacement and insecurity due to armed violence. The country has endured more than half a century of intense armed conflict, perpetuated by widespread illegal drug production and trafficking and rooted in territorial control by armed groups. The increased impact of natural hazards related to climate change and the integration of 2.9 million Venezuelan refugees are also driving humanitarian needs in Colombia.
Venezuela Crisis
Political turmoil and socioeconomic decline in Venezuela have led to the worst humanitarian crisis in South America and one of the largest migration crises in the world. Venezuela is experiencing a political and economic crisis marked by hyperinflation, limited food availability, medicine shortages, violent crime, and human right violations. Since 2014, more than 7 million Venezuelans have fled to Latin American and Caribbean countries, out of nearly 8 million Venezuelans who have left their country. In 2024, at least 7.6 million people will be in need of humanitarian assistance in the South American country
Mozambique Crisis
Despite a temporary improved security environment, the humanitarian crisis in Mozambique's northern province of Cabo Delgado continues to force people to flee their homes. Violence by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) has displaced nearly one million people. 3.1 million children, women, and men in Mozambique will require humanitarian aid in 2025, including some 1.3 million in Cabo Delgado and neighboring Niassa and Nampula provinces, and about 1.8 million across the country due to severe drought. Mozambique is highly susceptible to climate shocks and frequent natural hazards such as drought, floods and tropical storms.
Central America Crisis
The North of Central America (NCA) – also called the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) – is a sub-region comprising El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and one of the most dangerous places on earth. Nicaragua is bordering the Northern Triangle. Gang violence, threats, extortion, persecution and sexual violence have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in search of safety. More than 1.2 million people from Central America have been uprooted from their homes, while some 7.7 million people across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras face moderate to severe food insecurity.
Burundi Crisis
The overall humanitarian situation in Burundi remains tense and serious human rights violations continue. Burundians are facing a humanitarian crisis characterized by food insecurity, violence, natural hazards and economic decline. The people of Burundi experience a triple burden: high climate risk, widespread poverty and conflict. Even though the worst of the violence has subsided in 2024, the security situation remains precarious, with an unstable political situation and ongoing displacement outside the country.
Further Crises
The world is plagued by further humanitarian crises that should neither be forgotten nor neglected. The emergency situations include: the hunger crisis in southern Africa due to historic drought, the crisis in Madagascar due to ongoing food insecurity and vulnerability to climate-related disasters; the crisis in Malawi due to drought and flooding; and the ongoing crisis in the Western Sahara.