Humanitarian Funding

Amid severe underfunding in 2025, the United Nations (UN) and its partners have issued a grim warning regarding the escalating humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. According to the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), published Wednesday, over 16.2 million people in Myanmar, including 5 million children, will require life-saving assistance and protection next year.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that the ongoing conflict in Myanmar continues to fuel suffering and humanitarian needs. Myanmar is experiencing one of the largest and most severe humanitarian crises worldwide, where hostilities have been marked by airstrikes and violations of international humanitarian law, triggering widespread displacement and harm to civilians.

The United Nations, its humanitarian partners, and the Chadian government launched the 2026 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) in N'Djamena, Chad's capital, on Friday, with the goal of supporting millions of people across the country. The plan requests US$986 million, including $540 million for refugees, to assist 3.4 million of the most vulnerable people in Chad.

The humanitarian crisis in Somalia has faded from the news this year, after a historic four-year drought ended in 2023 and famine was averted, bringing relief to millions of Somalis. But UN officials and humanitarian agencies warn that needs in the country remain critically high as a lack of humanitarian funding delays recovery from the drought.

In 2024, 299.4 million around the world will need humanitarian assistance and protection, due to conflicts, climate emergencies, collapsing economies, and other drivers. The United Nations today launched its global humanitarian appeal for 2024, calling for US$46.4 billion to help 180.5 million people with life-saving assistance and protection, a significant reduction compared to 2023.

The United Nations’ relief chief issued a scathing rebuke to the international community on Monday, warning that the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan is being fueled by a global "lack of action" despite a clear understanding of the scale of the crisis. An unprecedented 33.7 million people, including more than 20 million children, currently require assistance and protection as a result of the war, which began more than three years ago.

Due to a series of attacks on a WFP river convoy and escalating violence impacting humanitarian organizations across South Sudan, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has suspended operations in Baliet County in Upper Nile State. Separately, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that an airstrike attributed to government forces struck one of its hospitals in Jonglei State, while another facility was looted.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is sounding the alarm over the rapidly deteriorating situation in the province of South Kivu, particularly in the territories of Fizi and Mwenga, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo). On Wednesday, OCHA warned that more than 170,000 displaced people in one locality alone are cut off from vital aid.

The United Nations and international aid agencies are warning that the lives of millions of people in Sudan are at risk as the world turns its attention away from the enormous humanitarian needs facing the war-torn country. Today, Sudan entered a year of war that many have called the world's largest human-made crisis, with half the population in need of life-saving assistance, tens of thousands killed and injured, and millions uprooted from their homes.

Millions of people in Syria remain at risk of death from unexploded ordnance, disease and malnutrition, and urgent assistance is needed, United Nations humanitarian officials said on Friday. Despite some progress, humanitarian needs in Syria remain immense as years of conflict have pushed 90 percent of the population into poverty, with nearly 7.5 million people displaced inside Syria and more than six million living as refugees.

The United Nations and its humanitarian partners, together with the Government of Mali, launched on Tuesday a $770 million Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) to help millions of people across Mali this year. The plan aims to respond to the urgent needs of 4.7 million people affected by conflict, displacement, health emergencies and climate shocks, out of a projected 6.4 million people in need of assistance in 2025.

The lives of more than 35 million people in the Sahel region are being affected by a complex and interdependent pattern of crises, exacerbated by deteriorating security, political instability, and the effects of climate change, leaving them in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection. UN agencies warn that lives will be at risk if aid organizations are not given the resources they need to respond to these crises and help the region's most vulnerable people.

The United Nations and its humanitarian partners, together with the Government of Somalia, launched the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) for Somalia on Wednesday. The plan, which requires US$1.43 billion, aims to support some 4.6 million of the country's most vulnerable people out of 5.98 million in need of life-saving humanitarian assistance and protection this year.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning that persistent underfunding of the humanitarian response in Haiti - amid growing needs and rising violence - means millions of Haitians are missing out on vital assistance. OCHA said Thursday that stepped-up and sustained funding is needed to stem the deepening humanitarian crisis in the country.

Despite Colombia’s 2016 landmark peace agreement, armed groups that did not adhere to the accord continue to maintain a presence in rural areas and impose their own rules, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned on Friday. The humanitarian organization said the growing number of fighters and armed activities within these groups are isolating the civilian population and cutting them off from essential state services and humanitarian assistance.