Humanitarian Crisis

A new United Nations report - out this week - warns that the spread of conflict, armed violence, climate hazards and economic stress are driving severe hunger and, in some cases, famine conditions in 22 countries and territories, with no likelihood of improvement in the next six months. Acute food insecurity in these hotspots will increase in scale and severity, pushing millions of people to the brink.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) Danish Refugee Council (DRC) predicts that global forced displacement will surge in the next two years, with 4.2 million people newly displaced in 2025 alone, and a further 2.5 million people expected to flee their communities in search of safety and protection in 2026. The grim forecast comes at a time when global displacement is already at an all-time high, with some 123 million people currently forcibly displaced around the world.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) launched their first joint anticipatory appeal on Thursday, seeking US$202 million to protect almost 9 million people in 22 high-risk countries from the potential impact of a strong El Niño weather pattern. El Niño conditions are predicted to heighten the risk of droughts, floods and storms in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.

One month after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela’s north-central coast, humanitarian organizations are drawing attention to the long-term effects communities are still facing, including displacement, damaged infrastructure, and disrupted essential services. The earthquakes killed nearly 5,400 people, injured more than 16,000, and left thousands homeless.

Children in Africa are among the most at risk of the impacts of climate change but are neglected by the key climate financing flows required to help them adapt, survive and respond to the climate crisis, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned. According to a UNICEF report released Friday, children in 48 out of 49 African countries assessed are categorized between medium-high and extremely high risk of the impacts of climate change. The report found children living in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, Somalia and Guinea-Bissau are the most vulnerable.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that multiple tropical cyclones have struck the Philippines in the span of a month, resulting in millions of people affected, repeated and prolonged displacements, damaged and destroyed homes, and prolonged flooding that has prevented communities from fully recovering. Another super typhoon is forecast to make landfall this weekend.

The paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during its campaign to seize El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur State, according to a major new report released Wednesday by Amnesty International. The human rights organization is now calling for an immediate ceasefire and the urgent deployment of an international force to protect civilians.

Hurricane Melissa — a powerful storm that made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale — is currently sweeping across Cuba, devastating the region and leaving dozens dead. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), evacuations, preparations, and relief efforts are ongoing as Melissa continues to impact the Caribbean.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) says it is deeply concerned by the current political tensions and deteriorating security situation in the country, including the aerial bombardment of the town of Nasir in Upper Nile State, resulting in civilian casualties. Nicholas Haysom, the head of UNMISS, has warned that the country is on the brink of a return to civil war.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned Wednesday that acute food insecurity will worsen for millions in 13 countries deemed "hunger hotspots" between June and November 2026. The latest early warning report identifies Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, and Gaza as the world's most critical hunger hotspots in terms of hunger severity and magnitude.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that clashes and insecurity continue to kill and injure civilians in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo). Ongoing fighting between non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and the Congolese army, and attacks by NSAGs against civilians, are also causing record displacement, with eastern DRC facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

Over 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Rutshuru Territory in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North-Kivu province, since renewed fighting between the Congolese army and the “Mouvement du 23 mars” (M23) armed group broke out on 20 October, the United Nations report this week.  While at least 188,000 men, women and children are now internally displaced, more than 16,500 others have sought refuge in Uganda.

The humanitarian community in Haiti seeks the mobilization of the international community as the country witnesses the continued escalation of violence perpetrated by armed groups in Port-au-Prince and the Département Artibonite. According to a statement released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Thursday, the “world must act now to prevent further atrocities.”

Hunger has reached unprecedented levels in Haiti amid a deepening security crisis. Nearly five million people - almost half of the country's population - are now facing acute food insecurity, including more than 1.6 million people at the emergency level, according to an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released Friday.  Meanwhile, gangs have extended their control and influence to more than 90 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warn that acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in 18 hunger hotspots – comprising a total of 22 countries or territories including two regions – during the period from November 2023 to April 2024.

Africa is bearing an increasingly heavy burden of climate change and disproportionately high costs of essential climate adaptation measures, according to a new World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report released on Monday. The report also warns that the continent faces disproportionate risks from climate change-related extreme weather events and patterns, causing massive humanitarian crises.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that Hurricane Melissa, a powerful storm that struck the Caribbean Sea in late October, affected over 5 million people across Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti. The storm killed at least 75 people and displaced or forced the evacuation of over 770,000.

United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) Martin Griffiths has today called for expanded humanitarian access and increased funding to assist the 18 million people in need of aid across Myanmar. The call comes as Myanmar’s overall humanitarian and human rights situation has deteriorated to alarming levels, exacerbated by the military’s strategy to prevent life-saving humanitarian aid from reaching those who desperately need it.

El Niño conditions have developed in the tropical Pacific for the first time in seven years, setting the stage for a likely surge in global temperatures and disruptive weather and climate patterns this year and in 2024. The naturally occurring major climate phenomenon may aggravate current humanitarian crises around the world and may lead to new emergencies related to the ongoing climate crisis.

Five days after two powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, humanitarian organizations are rapidly scaling up life-saving assistance as the country’s authorities continue to lead the response. International search and rescue operations have been fully mobilized with over 70 teams and other specialized units from 27 countries. Over 2,300 personnel are currently working alongside national authorities.