Humanitarian Funding

The humanitarian crisis in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) continues to deteriorate amid ongoing conflict that has displaced tens of thousands of people and caused widespread hunger, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday. UN aid agencies are struggling in particular in provinces overrun by Rwanda-backed rebels from the March 23 Movement (M23). However, dramatic funding shortfalls for humanitarian operations have also contributed to the dire situation.

Funding constraints mean that the World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to limit emergency aid to only 6.2 million of the most vulnerable people in need across West Africa, scaling back from an initial target of assisting 11.6 million, the United Nations agency said on Wednesday. Millions in the Sahel will be stranded without aid as the lean season sets in and hunger starts to peak. 

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is urgently calling for $629.7 million to sustain and scale up life-saving assistance in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo). The UN agency reported Tuesday that conditions for those housed in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have fled conflict in the provinces of Ituri, North and South Kivu have become dire with the advent of the rainy season. 

Amid ongoing Israeli military strikes, recurring security incidents, forced displacement, and increasing movement restrictions, aid agencies warn that the humanitarian situation across Gaza remains catastrophic. These dire conditions continue to disrupt humanitarian operations, limiting access to food, water, shelter, healthcare, and other essential services while heightening protection risks for those affected.

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.

United Nations relief chief Tom Fletcher warned the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is rapidly accelerating, with over half of the population facing acute hunger and needing immediate international support. Briefing the 15-member Council, Fletcher stressed that without urgent intervention, "hunger will deepen. Suffering will grow. More lives will be lost."

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.

While needs are rising rapidly across the world, the United Nations is warning that humanitarian organizations providing life-saving services to women and girls are running out of money. A new UN Women report, published on Friday, reveals that at least one million women and girls have lost access to vital support since January 2025 — a figure which is believed to be much higher in reality.

The humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) reports an alarming increase in the number of children with severe acute malnutrition and medical complications requiring lifesaving treatment in its therapeutic feeding centers in southern Afghanistan. The non-governmental organization (NGO) is calling on donors, health authorities, and other relevant organizations to prioritize and restore funding for nutrition programs across Afghanistan.

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 deadly Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) continues to spread across the vast country, despite some success in containing it. Aid officials renewed their call for international support on Tuesday to help responders on the ground. While there has been progress in some places, aid agencies warn that cases continue to rise exponentially in other locations.

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.

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.