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 6.7 million Venezuelans have fled to Latin American and Caribbean countries, out of nearly 8 million Venezuelans who have left their country. In 2025, at least 7.9 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in the South American country.
A United Nations fact-finding mission warns that repression in Venezuela has worsened following flawed presidential elections on July 28, with Nicolás Maduro's government crushing all dissent in a bid to retain power "at any price." Tuesday's report comes as there is no end in sight to the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, with at least 7.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), together with the Government of Bangladesh, on Monday launched their Joint Response Plan (JRP) for one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The plan calls for US$934.5 million from the international community to fund protection, shelter, and basic needs for refugees in camps, and to support opportunities for self-reliance.
This Sunday marks 100 days since the devastating war in the Gaza Strip began, killing tens of thousands of civilians – among them more than 10,000 children - and displacing millions of people, following the major attacks that Palestinian armed groups carried out against Israel on October 7 last year. United Nations officials say Palestinians in Gaza are in a state of desperation after three months of being militarily battered and left without sufficient supplies of food, water and medicine.
After an 11-week total blockade of humanitarian and commercial goods into the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities have temporarily allowed the resumption of limited aid deliveries since Monday. While the entry of some trucks has been welcomed as a positive development, as of Wednesday night none of the supplies had reached those in need, amid extreme deprivation throughout the territory.
A local "humanitarian pause" allowed the launch of the emergency polio immunization campaign, with nearly 87,000 children vaccinated in central Gaza on the first day of the campaign on Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of young Palestinian children are on track to be vaccinated. Despite this, Israeli air and land bombardment continues throughout the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian deaths, injuries, maiming, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
A senior United Nations official has called Wednesday for a negotiated solution to the conflict in Sudan, saying there is no alternative. Meanwhile, UN agencies warn health conditions are deteriorating in Sudan and neighboring countries as growing numbers of people flee escalating fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns of a sharp decline in the humanitarian situation in El Fasher, the besieged capital of Sudan’s North Darfur State. OCHA reports that civilians in El Fasher continue to endure relentless attacks, acute hunger, and cholera. The population faces daily threats from shelling, airstrikes, and drone attacks — with fierce clashes reported in north-eastern districts of the state capital in recent weeks.
Myanmar faces multiple, overlapping humanitarian needs caused by persecution, protracted armed conflict, intercommunal violence and natural disasters like earthquakes and cyclones. 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 38 percent of the country's 57 million people estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2025. In March 2025, a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar - the largest to hit the country in over a century.
The heads of more than a dozen United Nations agencies and international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have issued a rare joint statement Sunday calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Gaza officials reported today that more than 10,000 Palestinians - including more than 4,100 children - have been killed since October 7 by Israel’s retaliatory attacks against the tiny enclave.
As Syrians celebrate the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's government after more than 50 years of brutal father-son rule, the search continues for tens of thousands of Syrians still missing after being arrested, detained or 'disappeared'. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Friday that it had registered 35,000 cases of people missing in Syria over the past 13 years, and that there was every reason to believe there were many more.
Four months into the war in Sudan, humanitarian leaders are highlighting the devastating impact the brutal conflict has had on millions of people whose lives have been destroyed and whose basic human rights have been violated. In a statement issued Tuesday, they called on the parties to the conflict to end the fighting, protect civilians and give humanitarian organizations unfettered access to all people in need in all areas of the country.
The United Nations says Sudan's warring parties appear headed for major clashes in the North Darfur city of El Fasher, where hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought refuge. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are reportedly encircling El Fasher, suggesting that a coordinated move to attack the city may be imminent. At the same time, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) appear to be positioning themselves.
February 24, 2025, marks three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has left more than 42,000 people dead or wounded. Humanitarian needs remain critical across the country, as lives and communities are devastated by attacks on civilian infrastructure. The civilian population continues to be at risk from relentless Russian attacks, particularly on the eastern and southern frontlines.
The United Nations has condemned a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday that reportedly killed at least 35 people, including two children, and injured at least 117 others, including 15 children. The two missiles hit a busy street in the center of the city in the northeast of the country, damaging residential buildings, an educational institution and civilian vehicles as people were out celebrating Palm Sunday, a major religious holiday in Ukraine.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly (GA) on Wednesday, Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), urged UN member states to act to prevent the implementation of Israeli Knesset legislation targeting UNRWA. He also urged states to maintain funding for UNRWA and not to withhold or divert funds on the assumption that the organization can no longer operate.
As world leaders gather in New York for the 79th United Nations General Assembly and the threat of a wider regional escalation looms, the world's humanitarian leaders are demanding an end to the appalling human suffering and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. "These atrocities must end," they said in a statement signed Monday by the heads of UN agencies and representatives of the world's non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Amid the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Sudan, the heads of over 50 human rights and humanitarian organizations have sounded the alarm and called for more aid, solidarity and attention to the Sudan Crisis. In an open letter published Wednesday, the leaders of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also urged the United Nations Security Council (UN SC) to act. Meanwhile, the UN SC heard briefings on the ongoing atrocities in the country and those responsible for committing them.
The United Nations estimates more than 578,000 people have been displaced due to the clashes and aerial bombardments since the end of October in Myanmar, although communication blackouts are making numbers difficult to verify. In its latest situation report released Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than two thirds of the country are affected by fighting between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and non-state armed groups, including Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) as well as People's Defense Forces (PDFs).
Diplomats for Afghanistan's ruling Taliban said Wednesday that neighboring Pakistan is implementing a plan for the "imminent" and rapid mass deportation of nearly three million Afghan refugees from its territory. More than 825,000 undocumented Afghans have already been forcibly repatriated from Pakistan since September 2023, as a result of a government crackdown on foreigners living in the country without legal permission or whose visas have expired.
