Humanitarian Funding

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.

The United States government is attempting to dismantle the world's largest government-run development and humanitarian aid agency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The USAID website went offline on Saturday, and hundreds of USAID employees and contractors have been reportedly fired or furloughed. USAID headquarters in Washington, D.C. was closed on Monday, and employees were told not to report to work.

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.

Next year will set another record for humanitarian relief requirements, with 339 million people in need of assistance in 69 countries, an increase of 65 million people compared to the same time last year, the United Nations (UN) and humanitarian partner organizations said today. The estimated cost of the humanitarian response going into 2023 is US$51.5 billion (EUR 49.3 billion), a 25 per cent increase compared to the beginning of 2022.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a Grade 3 Emergency Appeal for the Greater Horn of Africa region on Friday. The United Nations organization is asking for USD 178 million (EUR 167 million) to carry out urgent, life-saving health work in 2023 to help the Greater Horn region. WHO’s Greater Horn of Africa region includes the seven affected countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, Violette Kakyomya, warned on Monday that the country is facing multiples humanitarian crises and called for urgent support.  The conflict in Sudan is having a strong impact on neighboring Chad, with nearly 490,000 Sudanese refugees – mostly women and children – having crossed the border into the eastern part of the Sahel country to seek safety. In total, there are currently one million refugees living in Chad. 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed concern on Tuesday about a sharp increase in violence perpetrated by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) against civilians in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province, with tens of thousands forced to flee their homes. While some aid agencies have had to temporarily suspend relief activities due to insecurity, other humanitarian operations have been brought to a halt due to a severe lack of funding.

The heads of United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) warned in a rare joint statement on Tuesday that escalating conflict is driving record levels of displacement, hunger and gender-based violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) said that without urgent international action, the situation threatens to push the DRC to the brink of catastrophe.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday launched a Flash Appeal for more than $2.8 billion to allow UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to respond to the urgent needs of 3.1 million people in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Israeli bombardment of much of Gaza continues, resulting in further civilian deaths, displacement and destruction.

The United Nations and humanitarian partner organizations have today launched the 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) for South Sudan, targeting 6 million children, women, and men with the most acute needs.  In the forthcoming year, 9 million people in the country - a slight decrease from 2023 - are projected to be in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. Among those requiring humanitarian aid will be 4.9 million children.

The heads of more than a dozen United Nations agencies and international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have issued a rare joint statement Friday calling for action to address the crisis gripping the Central Sahel as exacerbating humanitarian and protection needs are threatening to reverse development gains. In 2024, some 17 million people – one fifth of the population - in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.

International donors have convened today in Geneva to jump-start funding for the humanitarian operation in Yemen. The high-level event was being hosted by the UN Secretary-General and the Governments of Sweden and Switzerland. Despite a six-month truce in 2022, widespread suffering persists in the country mainly due to the deteriorating economy and the collapse of basic services.