Humanitarian Funding

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that drought continues to impact millions of people across Somalia.  Somali authorities estimate that more than 4.6 million people, or around a quarter of the population in Somalia, are being affected by the ongoing drought, with more than 104,000 people displaced in November alone due to the extreme dry conditions.

The World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have warned in a joined statement Friday that WFP will be forced to make additional cuts to already reduced food assistance to refugees in Chad in April and may have to completely suspend assistance by May without immediate and sustained funding. WFP is appealing for $142.7 million over the next six months to maintain its refugee support program. 

United States national Cindy McCain took over Wednesday as the new head of the World Food Programme (WFP). The new Executive Director said in her first statement that her priorities for the United Nations agency were increasing its resources, improving its effectiveness and scaling up partnerships and innovation.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is sounding the alarm that its lifesaving emergency food and nutrition assistance in Somalia is at imminent risk of grinding to a halt without immediate new funding. The organization's resources are expected to be depleted within weeks without urgent replenishment, as Somalia faces an "extremely worrying humanitarian situation" with 4.4 million people experiencing acute hunger.

A new United Nations report warns that acute food insecurity is worsening in 16 hunger hotspots across the globe, which threatens to push millions more people into famine or risk of famine, with time running out to avert widespread starvation. The report identifies armed conflict and violence, economic collapse, climate extremes, and an unprecedented decline in humanitarian funding as the main drivers of acute hunger.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that Madagascar is experiencing a worsening humanitarian crisis, particularly in the Grand Sud and Grand Sud-Est regions, which have endured a series of droughts, cyclones, and other disasters this year and last.  The lingering impact of the recent El Niño drought and cyclone season, combined with a malaria outbreak and strained health systems, has left many communities without the means to recover.

Humanitarian aid in Yemen has been cut by 62 percent over five years, endangering the lives and futures of the country's most vulnerable people, especially children, the international non-governmental organization (NGO) Save the Children International warned on Monday. The continued funding cuts come as two-thirds of Yemen’s population – 21.6 million people, including 11 million children – are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection this year.

Amid continued violence and mass displacement in Haiti, the recruitment and use of children by armed groups surged 200 percent in 2025, according to a new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Published on Thursday, the report underscores the deep protection crisis facing children in Haiti.

Four United Nations agencies are calling for urgent international attention to address the immense suffering and growing dangers facing the Sudanese population. Over 900 days of brutal fighting, widespread human rights violations, famine, and the collapse of essential services have pushed millions, particularly women and children, to the brink of survival.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) are warning of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with high levels of acute food insecurity and surging emergency hunger, particularly in the conflict-ridden eastern provinces. According to the latest food security analysis, 26.6 million Congolese people are projected to face crisis levels of acute hunger or worse by early 2026.

Amid the country's protracted political, security, and humanitarian crises, the United Nations envoy for Yemen, stressed the urgent need on Thursday to relaunch a comprehensive and inclusive political process to achieve a negotiated settlement to the conflict. Briefing the UN Security Council, Hans Grundberg also expressed serious concerns about the continued detention of UN staff and other personnel by the Houthi de facto authorities.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent (RCRC) Movement is warning that the situation in South Sudan is becoming increasingly dire, with armed conflict, violence, diseases and natural disasters wreaking havoc on the lives and livelihoods of millions of people across the country. According to the United Nations, the dire humanitarian situation in South Sudan has left 9.9 million people in need of life-saving assistance, while critical funding shortfalls are exacerbating the situation.

The United Nations’ top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about the “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities. The heavy humanitarian and psychological toll of these Russian strikes is compounded by the expectation that this winter will be much colder than last year and that the rate of destruction of energy infrastructure may exceed the recovery rate.

United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) Martin Griffiths on Tuesday released US$100 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support underfunded humanitarian emergencies in seven countries in Africa, the Americas and the Middle East. The crises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan and Syria top the list, receiving $20 million each.

According to reports from the humanitarian office of the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 50,000 people have been forced to flee in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province following escalating attacks by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and heightened fear of violence. The province is the epicenter of an ongoing armed conflict, and internal displacement is prevalent.