Humanitarian Response Plan

Amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, renewed conflict and airstrikes in Jonglei State have forced over 100,000 people to flee, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The majority of those displaced are women, children, and older people. The insecurity has also led several humanitarian organizations to relocate their staff, disrupting essential activities.

Nearly 3 million children – the highest number on record – need humanitarian support in Haiti, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned Thursday. Children face staggering levels of violence that have exacerbated hunger and malnutrition in a country already mired in poverty and a resurgence of cholera. Meanwhile, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held a special meeting Friday on food insecurity in Haiti amid the rapidly deteriorating situation in the country.

Despite a temporary lull in fighting, United Nations officials warned the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Yemen remains gripped by escalating regional tensions, that are derailing prospects for a lasting peace, a deepening economic collapse and a worsening humanitarian crisis that continues to devastate civilians, especially children. Half of Yemen's children - some 2.3 million - are malnourished, with 600,000 of them suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

In the nearly 1,000 days since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, thousands of civilians have been killed, the country's energy capacity is on the brink, and drones are terrifying frontline communities, the UN's top aid official in the country said on Friday. Speaking in Geneva, Matthias Schmale warned that winter posed a critical challenge and described the anguish felt by Ukrainians as the war rages on.

A new analysis from the World Food Programme (WFP), released on Wednesday, shows that the intensifying El Niño weather pattern is set to significantly worsen food insecurity in some of the world's most vulnerable countries into 2027. The United Nations agency is ramping up its preparedness and response efforts, as the impacts of El Niño are already being felt by those most vulnerable to hunger.

The World Food Programme (WFP) issued a dire warning on Friday, highlighting that millions in Somalia are at risk of worsening hunger and malnutrition due to critical funding shortages. These shortages have forced the United Nations agency to reduce its emergency food assistance support by over two-thirds. By November, the WFP will only be able to provide assistance to 350,000 people, down from 1.1 million in August.

Cease-fire talks in Sudan brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia have failed to end the country's 16-month conflict, but have succeeded in securing greater humanitarian access to millions of people who have been deprived of food, medicine, and other essential aid for many months. However, the absence of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) from the talks has hampered progress towards a ceasefire.

February 24, 2025, marks three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has left more than 42,000 people dead or wounded. Humanitarian needs remain critical across the country, as lives and communities are devastated by attacks on civilian infrastructure. The civilian population continues to be at risk from relentless Russian attacks, particularly on the eastern and southern frontlines.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday it is concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in eastern Chad amid a massive influx of refugees and returnees from neighboring Sudan. More than 55,000 Sudanese refugees and 39,000 Chadian returnees have been registered in Chad's Ennedi-Est and Wadi Fira provinces since violence escalated in Sudan's North Darfur state in April.

While the world's attention is focused on armed conflicts elsewhere, some 15.6 million people have been displaced by conflict in Sudan, making the situation by far the largest displacement crisis in the world. The vast majority of the displaced - more than 12.3 million women, children and men - have been uprooted by the war, which began in April 2023 and continues unabated. Yet the emergency receives almost no media, diplomatic, or political attention, and the humanitarian response is grossly underfunded.

Haitian leaders are rushing to meet a looming deadline to name members of a transitional council that will take power following the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Meanwhile, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that Haiti is on the brink of a devastating hunger crisis, with humanitarian operations at risk of grinding to a halt amid rampant violence as armed gangs tighten their grip on the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The United Nations relief chief, Martin Griffiths, warns that nearly nine months of war have tipped Sudan into a downward spiral that only grows more ruinous by the day. In a statement issued Thursday, Griffiths said that in 2024, the international community – particularly those with influence on the parties to the conflict in Sudan – must take decisive and immediate action to stop the fighting and safeguard humanitarian operations to help millions of civilians.

United Nations officials have appealed for international support to help Zimbabwe cope with the humanitarian impact of a historic drought that has left 7.6 million people at risk of acute hunger. More than half of the harvest has been destroyed due to a drought caused by the warming El Niño episode in 2023-2024.

This week marks the sixth anniversary since over 700,000 Rohingya women, men and children fled Myanmar to Bangladesh, following coordinated attacks by the Myanmar military. They joined hundreds of thousands of other Rohingya who had previously sought refuge in the country. The United Nations (UN) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are calling this week for renewed commitment from the international community to sustain the humanitarian response for nearly one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Independent United Nations human rights experts on Tuesday condemned the sharp rise in violence against civilians in Sudan, as the humanitarian situation caused by the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to spiral into catastrophic levels. The condemnation comes at a time of increasing displacement, as nearly a third of Sudan's population of 51 million has now been forced to flee, creating the largest displacement crisis in the world.

Senior United Nations officials warned the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the world cannot afford to lose focus on Syria as the humanitarian and political crisis continues to devastate the country. Across the country, 16.7 million people - more than 70 percent of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, with women and children particularly affected.

Hunger has reached alarming levels in Myanmar and the situation is set to deteriorate further in 2025, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) warned on Wednesday. A staggering 15 million people are expected to go hungry this year, rising from 13.3 million in 2024. The warning comes as Myanmar nears four years since the military seized power in the Southeast Asian country.