This is as it launches a $33 billion Global Humanitarian Overview aimed at supporting 135 million people across 50 countries. The UN and its partners are urgently seeking $23 billion of that amount to deliver immediate lifesaving assistance to 87 million people affected by conflict, climate shocks, earthquakes, epidemics and crop failures.
UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Tom Fletcher said the appeal reflects the most essential interventions needed to protect people trapped in the world’s worst crises, adding that the priority is to focus on “life by life”.
The updated plan follows a devastating year for aid operations, marked by sharp funding cuts and an unprecedented rise in attacks on aid workers. Only $12 billion was received for the 2025 appeal, the lowest level in a decade, leaving 25 million people without support they would otherwise have received.
Aid agencies report that underfunding has fuelled hunger, overwhelmed health systems and forced hundreds of organisations to close programmes, including those protecting women and girls.
The single largest country plan is for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, where $4.1 billion is required to assist three million people. Sudan, now gripped by the world’s largest displacement crisis, requires $2.9 billion for lifesaving assistance to 20 million people still inside the country, along with an additional $2 billion for the seven million Sudanese refugees who have fled.
Syria remains one of the most heavily impacted crises, with $2.8 billion needed to support 8.6 million people.
Fletcher raised alarm over a surge in violence against humanitarian workers, noting that more than 380 were killed in the past year, the highest number ever recorded. He described workers as “overstretched, underfunded and under attack”, warning that continued funding declines will deepen suffering and fuel instability.
Over the next 87 days, humanitarian leaders will present the appeal to UN Member States in hopes of securing renewed political and financial commitment. Countries will also be pressed to strengthen protection for aid workers, not only through statements but by holding perpetrators accountable, including those supplying weapons used in attacks.
Humanitarian agencies caution that failure to act swiftly will leave millions exposed to worsening hunger, insecurity and preventable deaths as global crises continue to intensify.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
