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.
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 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.
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 also 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 — are in need of humanitarian assistance.
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 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 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 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.
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."
Although global hunger levels have declined slightly, they remain alarmingly high. An estimated 8.2 percent of the global population, or around 673 million people, experienced hunger in 2024, which is down from 8.5 percent in 2023 and 8.7 percent in 2022. However, progress was not consistent worldwide, as hunger continued to rise in most subregions of Africa and Western Asia, according to a new report published on Monday by five United Nations agencies.
Nearly 55 million people in West and Central Africa will struggle to feed themselves during the lean season between June and August 2024, according to a March 2023 food security analysis. In a joint statement on Friday, UN humanitarian agencies warned that the number of people who are food insecure in the Sahel and beyond has increased by four million compared to the November 2023 forecast and has quadrupled in the last five years.
The Central African Republic (CAR) has been one of the world's most neglected humanitarian crises for several consecutive years. Ravaged by violence since 2012, the country remains in dire need of support. Conflict, epidemics, and climate disasters continue to disrupt the lives of people in CAR, leaving 2.3 million people — more than one-third of the population — in need of humanitarian aid this year.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 25.6 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) continue to face crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity. In a joint statement on Thursday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that armed violence, ongoing conflict and soaring food prices are fueling acute food insecurity among displaced people and returnees.
The world is at risk of yet another year of record hunger as the global food crisis continues to drive yet more people into worsening levels of acute food insecurity, warns the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). In a statement this week, to mark today’s World Food Day, the UN agency called for urgent action to address the root causes of the hunger crisis.
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.
The United Nations and its partner agencies in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras on Wednesday launched this year's humanitarian response plans to assist 2.2 million people in need, seeking a total of US$306 million. The three countries continue to face violence, food insecurity, extreme weather events and mixed movements of refugees and migrants, with more than 4.6 million people in need of humanitarian aid in 2025.
Leading United Nations agencies, including the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), warn that millions of people in the greater Horn of Africa are trapped in an emergency hunger and health crisis driven by overlapping disasters, including climate change and conflict. WHO’s Greater Horn of Africa region includes the seven affected countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
The humanitarian crisis in Mozambique's northern province of Cabo Delgado continues to force people to flee their homes. Hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced due to violence perpetrated by non-state armed groups (NSAGs), and hundreds of thousands of returnees in conflict-affected areas continue to be highly vulnerable. An estimated 5.2 million children, women, and men across Mozambique are in need of humanitarian aid in 2025, including some 1.3 million in Cabo Delgado and neighboring Niassa and Nampula provinces. Mozambique is also highly susceptible to climate shocks and frequent natural hazards such as drought, floods and tropical storms.
Humanitarian aid and human rights are two concepts that are closely related, yet distinct in their approach to addressing issues of global concern. Both seek to promote the well-being of individuals and communities, but they do so through different means and with different objectives in mind. At their core, humanitarian action and human rights share a common goal of promoting human dignity and alleviating human suffering. At the center of both ideas are humans and the concept of humanity.
