In Haiti, millions of people need humanitarian aid to combat hunger amid a deteriorating security situation. Armed gangs control or influence up to 90 percent of the capital, and gang violence has spread throughout the Caribbean country. Haiti has a long history of natural disasters and remains highly vulnerable to hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods. In 2026, an estimated 6.4 million people — more than half of Haiti’s population — will require emergency humanitarian assistance.
While the world's farmers produce more than enough food to feed the planet's 8 billion people, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said "hunger and malnutrition are a fact of life" for billions, as 2.8 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. In a message ahead of Wednesday's World Food Day, Guterres said 733 million people worldwide lack food because of "conflict, marginalization, climate change, poverty and economic downturns.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday that without urgent funding, life-saving food aid in Africa's Sahel region will come to a halt in April 2025. The warning comes as the lean season, the period between harvests when hunger peaks, is expected to arrive earlier than usual across the region this year. Millions of children, women and men, including refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), continue to rely on WFP food assistance to survive.
The world is facing an existential threat - the climate crisis. The effects of climate change are already evident and have far-reaching consequences for our environment, ecosystems, societies, and people. But the climate crisis goes beyond mere environmental protection. It is closely linked to the increase and intensification of humanitarian crises affecting many millions of people worldwide and posing immense challenges to the world.
Some 733 million people faced hunger in 2023, representing one in eleven people globally and one in five in Africa, according to a new report released Wednesday by five United Nations specialized agencies. The report warns that the world is significantly off track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, Zero Hunger, by 2030, with alarming numbers of people experiencing food insecurity and malnutrition.
The United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) expressed serious concerns regarding the devastating cuts to food rations affecting over 700,000 refugees in Kenya's largest refugee camps on Wednesday. The cuts are a direct consequence of the withdrawal of essential humanitarian aid by the US and other donor governments, resulting in severe funding shortages that threaten the operations of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its partner aid agencies.
The Sahel region is facing one of the fastest-growing humanitarian crises in the world, with more than 33 million people in need of humanitarian aid in 2025. 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 change is causing natural disasters such as heavy flooding to occur with increasing frequency and severity.
The latest analysis of acute food insecurity in the Gaza Strip concludes that as long as Israel's war on Gaza continues and humanitarian access is restricted by its military and political authorities, the risk of famine remains high throughout the territory. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report on Gaza, released on Tuesday, paints a stark picture of ongoing hunger, finding that 96 percent of the population faces acute food insecurity at crisis level or worse, with nearly half a million people in catastrophic conditions.
Somalis are facing one of the world's most complex humanitarian crises. This crisis is fueled by conflict, displacement, food insecurity, political instability, climate shocks, poverty, and economic decline. Although Somalia's humanitarian needs remain high, reduced donor funding in 2025 forced humanitarian agencies to scale back or shut down critical programs, drastically reducing life-saving operations. Severe drought conditions in Somalia are endangering millions of lives amid dwindling funds.
Hunger and malnutrition are on the rise across the flood, drought, and conflict-affected areas of South Sudan, the United Nations (UN) warns. In a joint statement Thursday, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that some communities are likely to face starvation if humanitarian assistance is not sustained and climate adaptation measures are not scaled-up.
The overall humanitarian situation in Burundi remains tense and serious human rights violations continue. Burundians are facing a humanitarian crisis characterized by food insecurity, extreme weather events and economic decline. The people of Burundi experience a triple burden: high climate risk, widespread poverty and insecurity. Even though the worst of the violence has subsided in 2025, the security situation remains precarious, with an unstable political situation and ongoing displacement outside the country.
Vulnerable groups in humanitarian crises may include women and girls, children, refugees and displaced persons, LGBTI people, elderly people, people with disabilities, people with acute or chronic diseases, religious or ethnic minorities, and indigenous peoples. These populations may face additional risks and challenges during crisis situations, and may require targeted assistance and support to address their specific needs. Humanitarian emergencies can exacerbate the existing vulnerabilities of these groups.
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. Since the start of 2025, the longstanding instability and insecurity in eastern DRC has escalated as the M23 rebel group stepped up fighting and seized large territory in North and South Kivu provinces.
The latest IPC Acute Food Insecurity Analysis, released in July 2024, shows that between April and September 2024, an estimated 2.8 million people in Mozambique will be in crisis levels (IPC3) or worse, including 510,000 people in IPC phase 4 (emergency) and 2.3 million people in IPC phase 3 (crisis). According to the analysis, of the seven districts projected to be at emergency levels, three are located in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, which has been facing armed conflict since 2017.
The United States is home to a large number of humanitarian organizations that work internationally to deliver much-needed humanitarian assistance overseas. These aid agencies respond to natural disasters, conflicts, and other emergencies, providing food, water, shelter, health care, and other critical support. DONARE has selected 27 well-known and influential humanitarian organizations based in the United States that respond to humanitarian crises around the world. The nonprofits on this list have a significant impact on humanitarian efforts worldwide.
The United Nations humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said in a statement on Wednesday that the world is watching horrifying scenes day after day of Palestinians being shot, wounded, or killed in the Gaza Strip simply for trying to eat. The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has recorded the deaths of at least 82 Palestinians and the injuries of at least 506 others, reportedly while they were trying to reach food distribution points in Rafah and Deir al Balah.
The overall humanitarian situation in Ethiopia has improved significantly over the past two years, but 21.4 million people were still in need of emergency assistance in 2024. Millions of Ethiopians remain displaced by conflict, insecurity, and climate-related shocks such as droughts or floods, as well as other natural disasters such as earthquakes. Ethiopia faces multiple drivers of instability. Years of drought and conflict have left millions of Ethiopians without enough to eat. Many have no water, medicine, food or shelter and fear for their lives.
Those who want to learn more about humanitarian work around the world can take a look at websites that are mainly used by professionals. DONARE has compiled an overview of internet sites and digital services aimed at experts and insiders in the field of humanitarian aid. Some of the humanitarian information services can also be helpful for journalists researching crisis situations.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warns that the global hunger crisis is deepening. The organization expects 318 million people to face crisis-level hunger or worse next year — more than double the number in 2019. However, the world's response remains "slow, fragmented, and underfunded."
The latest food security report on Haiti - out this week - shows that a record 5.7 million people - more than half of all Haitians - are expected to experience acute hunger between now and June 2025, driven by relentless gang violence and ongoing economic collapse. Rising armed violence has also fueled massive displacement as armed gangs seek to expand their control, forcing more than one million people from their homes.
