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	Sudan: conflict, mass displacement and denials of aid push the country deeper towards famine by UN News, IPC, ICC, UNICEF, WFP, agencies   24 Mar. 2026   The Sudan INGO Forum is appalled by the latest drone attack on Ed Dain Teaching Hospital in East Darfur, which killed at least 64 people, including 13 children, two female nurses, one male doctor and multiple patients, and injured nearly 90 others.   This attack rendered the hospital completely non-functional, destroying essential departments including the emergency room, pediatric ward, surgery service and a stabilisation centre that was treating children with acute malnutrition and related medical complications. It was the only functioning public medical facility in Ed Dain and its destruction is cutting off lifesaving services for hundreds of thousands of civilians.   This is yet another grave violation of international humanitarian law, within a series of deadly escalations of drone attacks in recent weeks and months. Health facilities and health workers must never be targeted.   Sudan’s health system is already under extraordinary pressure. After nearly three years of war, up to 80% of health facilities in conflict-affected states have shut down, while those still operational face severe shortages of staff, medicine and essential supplies. Repeated attacks on healthcare facilities, over 200 attacks were verified by WHO between April 2023 and December 2025, have killed close to 2,000 people and injured hundreds more, the vast majority of them within the last year only.   At the same time, humanitarian funding is rapidly shrinking. According to interagency analysis, the imminent closure of legacy US-funded programs will result in the shutdown of at least 344 health facilities across 13 states, affecting an estimated 876,247 people every month. In East Darfur specifically, this loss of funding is expected to lead to the suspension of mobile clinics, primary healthcare services, and referral systems that communities depend on.   The destruction of a central facility such as Ed Dain Teaching Hospital, combined with the withdrawal of humanitarian health programming, risks creating a near-total collapse of healthcare access in the region.   The Sudan INGO Forum reiterates its urgent call on all parties to the conflict to:   Fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law and immediately cease attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and health facilities. Respect and protect medical personnel, facilities, and transport at all times. Adopt and enforce a clear no-strike policy on critical civilian infrastructure. Ensure safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access to all populations in need.   We further call on the international community to:   Strongly condemn this attack and all violations of international humanitarian law. Take urgent diplomatic action to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure in Sudan. Immediately increase and frontload humanitarian funding to mitigate the severe gaps created by program closures and sustain life-saving services, particularly in conflict-affected states.   The continued targeting of healthcare facilities, combined with the erosion of humanitarian service capacity, represents a devastating convergence that will cost countless lives unless immediate action is taken.   * The Sudan INGO Forum is the coordination and representation body for the international non-governmental organization (INGO) community in Sudan.   http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-drone-strike-ed-dain-teaching-hospital-represents-grave-escalation-attacks-healthcare-amid-increased-strain-health-system http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-deadly-escalation-drone-strikes-civilian-areas-must-end   10 Mar. 2026   Satellite images show Rapid Support Forces using ‘starvation strategy’ in Sudan. (Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, agencies)   Targeted attacks on farming communities by the Rapid Support Forces were intended to prevent villages producing food.   There is strong evidence that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed a war crime by depriving the villagers of north Darfur of the means to produce food, legal experts argue in a new analysis published today calling for the Humanitarian Research Lab’s (HRL) revelations to be used in international courts.   The destruction of the villages, farming equipment and infrastructure all provide strong evidence of a “starvation strategy” against a population already struggling with food insecurity because of the war, says Tom Dannenbaum, a professor at Stanford Law School and a leading expert on the use of starvation in war.   “People were at the brink of starvation and objects indispensable to their survival were being destroyed,” says Dannenbaum, who co-authored the analysis alongside Yale Law School professor Oona Hathaway.   He says it was not merely the fact the villages had been attacked but the targeted destruction of livestock enclosures, as well as the forced displacement of the farmers, that led to reduced farming activity that suggested a deliberate attempt to prevent the villages from being able to produce food.   Dannenbaum and Hathaway believe the HRL research is a breakthrough in attempts to prove how a starvation strategy was imposed because of the way it uses remote sensing technologies. They also think there is potential for the same techniques to be used to investigate war crimes in places such as Gaza and Ethiopia.   “It’s evidence of extraordinary cruelty and the real horrors people have been facing,” says Hathaway. “The report provides a unique level of fine-grained, over-time analysis documenting exactly what was attacked, going far beyond our general knowledge of the fighting … [it] is of a quality that could be submitted in a court for criminal prosecution.”   The international criminal court has been investigating genocide in Darfur since the 2000s, and has issued calls for evidence related to recent violence including the takeover of El Geneina in West Darfur in June 2023, when RSF fighters imposed a months-long siege that killed tens of thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more people from the Masalit community.   The UN human rights council has also been documenting rights violations throughout the war and last month published a report saying the RSF’s attack on El Fasher last year bore the “hallmarks of genocide”, including a siege that imposed conditions designed to destroy non-Arab communities including the Zaghawa and Fur.   There have also been investigations into the “genocidal attack” on Zamzam in April 2025, which at the time was Sudan’s largest displacement camp, hosting about 700,000 people just south of El Fasher.   HRL’s researchers used sensors that can remotely detect the presence of fires, together with satellite imagery to monitor the locations of the attacks on these 41 villages, where it found there was a 2040% increase in fires during the period studied.   A quarter of the villages were attacked more than once, and after being attacked 68% of them show no signs of normal life. The researchers found that vehicles consistent with those used by the RSF could be identified near the scenes of the violence.   The attacks on villages began just months before the siege of El Fasher. HRL researchers believe this was part of a plan to cut the city off from the areas that fed it.   “They ripped out the breadbasket of El-Fasher as an intentional strategy to starve the city,” says Nathaniel Raymond, HRL’s executive director.   During the subsequent 18-month siege of El Fasher the RSF prevented food, water and medicine from entering the city, and constructed an earthen berm at least 19 miles long to physically prevent civilians from leaving.   Throughout the war the RSF have imposed long sieges on cities with large non-Arab communities such as El Geneina and El Fasher, before militarily taking them over.   The RSF now controls all of Darfur’s main cities but its use of siege tactics has continued in its fighting against the Sudanese army elsewhere, which has most recently been focused on the neighbouring Kordofan region.   Like Darfur, Kordofan is resource-rich with supplies of gold, oil and gum arabic, a key ingredient in cosmetics and soft drinks – Sudan provides 80% of the world’s supply. It is also the location of Kadugli, a city which alongside El Fasher, has been declared as suffering famine and where the price of staple foods such as sorghum are 1,000% higher than before the war.   In February, the Sudanese army announced that it had broken a siege on Kadugli that prevented aid trucks from arriving, but violence has continued and concerns remain that the RSF will try to reimpose siege conditions. On 20 February, a convoy of aid trucks that had waited weeks to reach the city was hit by a drone strike, killing four people.   Hunger is also growing in eastern Sudan’s Blue Nile state where farmers have not been able to access their land because of RSF attacks, leaving crops unharvested according to campaign group Avaaz, which reported that the price of flour rose 43% in January.   Raymond says that HRL’s work is evidence that the RSF is using hunger as a means of war and that unless they are investigated and held accountable, there is a threat of the same fate facing other communities.   “This report is quantitative proof of RSF’s intent, which is to prevent those they perceive as enemies from being able to feed themselves,” says Raymond. “What this means for Sudan is clear: what happened here can happen again.”   http://www.justsecurity.org/131508/report-new-evidence-starvation-darfur/ http://medicine.yale.edu/lab/khoshnood/news/ http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2026/mar/10/extraordinary-cruelty-images-show-longterm-starvation-strategy-in-sudan   Feb. 2026   Child malnutrition hits catastrophic levels in parts of Sudan. (UN News, IPC)   Acute malnutrition among children has reached catastrophic levels in parts of Sudan’s North Darfur and Greater Kordofan, UN-backed analysts warned on Thursday, as conflict, mass displacement and denials of aid push the country deeper into a famine-risk emergency.   According to an alert from the IPC, a global food security monitoring system, thresholds for acute malnutrition were surpassed in two new areas of North Darfur – Um Baru and Kernoi – following the fall of the regional capital, El Fasher, in October 2025 and a massive exodus.   December assessments found acute malnutrition levels among children of 52.9 per cent in Um Baru – nearly twice the famine threshold – and about 34 per cent in Kernoi. The IPC warned that conditions are deteriorating rapidly – and action is urgently needed.   “These alarming rates suggest an increased risk of excess mortality,” the experts said, adding that many other conflict-affected or inaccessible areas may be facing similarly catastrophic conditions.   Um Baru and Kernoi are in areas of northwestern North Darfur, near key displacement corridors leading toward the Chadian border. Both areas received large numbers of civilians fleeing fighting in and around El Fasher, where widespread atrocities occured.   Sudan’s war, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has devastated food systems nationwide, triggering mass displacement and repeated disruptions to health, water and nutrition services.   The IPC alert draws urgent attention to the worsening conditions. It builds on earlier IPC analyses that confirmed famine (IPC Phase 5) in El Fasher, North Darfur in 2024, and Kadugli, South Kordofan, in September 2025 – and projected famine risk in at least 20 other areas across greater Darfur and greater Kordofan.   The new findings indicate that famine-like conditions are likely spreading beyond previously assessed locations, driven by continued fighting, displacement and the collapse of food, health and water systems, IPC analysts said.   Across the country, over 4.2 million cases of acute malnutrition are expected in 2026, including more than 800,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition, representing a sharp increase from 2025 levels, according to IPC analysis.   The IPC also warned of rapidly deteriorating conditions across Greater Kordofan, where famine was already confirmed in Kadugli and severe conditions were projected in Dilling and the Western Nuba Mountains. Without an immediate end to the fighting and large-scale humanitarian access, IPC experts said preventable deaths are likely to rise.   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-143/en/ http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/02/1166931 http://www.unicef.org/sudan/stories/generational-crisis-looms-sudan http://www.savethechildren.net/news/children-dying-because-hunger-famine-risks-detected-two-new-locations-sudan   Feb. 2026   Sudan: Countdown to catastrophe in Kordofan, as world once again looks away. (NRC)   South Kordofan is now the epicentre of the war in Sudan, which has caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Civilians in this part of southern Sudan face intensified fighting and near-total blockage of humanitarian supplies, after a year of starvation and bombardment, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Jan Egeland warned today.   At the end of his visit to South Kordofan, Egeland said he saw that the world was once again failing civilians in Sudan, with the clock ticking on further widespread atrocities.   “South Kordofan has become Sudan’s most dangerous and neglected frontline,” said Egeland. “After the horrors in El Fasher, Darfur, we cannot allow another civilian catastrophe to unfold on our watch. Entire cities are being starved, forcing families to flee with nothing. Civilians here have told me they are bombed and attacked where they live, pray, and learn. This is a man-made disaster, and it is accelerating towards a nightmare scenario.”   In Kadugli and Dilling, the main towns in South Kordofan, essential supply routes have been cut, leading markets to completely collapse. Trapped civilians are left with little or no access to food, cash, or basic services. Famine is taking hold in Kadugli, with Dilling at high risk of the same.   Thousands of people are now fleeing Kordofan in desperate journeys, having to navigate across frontlines, heading toward the Nuba Mountains – a region long isolated and impoverished, and now facing renewed violence. Others are fleeing to White Nile, Gedaref, and South Sudan. Journeys take days or weeks and are marked by hunger, theft, intimidation, and abuse.   Upon reaching the relative safety of displacement camps, families sleep on the bare ground or in overcrowded shelters. Aid groups like NRC are few, over-stretched, and under-funded. Essential items are critically scarce. Children are traumatised, malnourished, and out of school.   Egeland warned that the humanitarian response is nowhere near the scale required, as international agencies remain largely absent and access constraints continue to block aid delivery.   “With most international organisations’ operations scaled back, Sudanese local responders are holding the line under extreme pressure,” said Egeland. “They are running communal kitchens, evacuating families, and delivering aid under fire. They are doing everything possible, but we must do more to help them.”   “This is a critical moment,” said Egeland. “We know exactly where this leads if the world looks away again. History will judge us if we abandon the civilians of Sudan again to face endless violence and deprivation.”   NRC is appealing to the parties to the conflict for immediate humanitarian access and protection of civilians. It is calling for urgent funding for life-saving aid, and effective international engagement to prevent further suffering.   http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/sudan-countdown-to-catastrophe-in-kordofan-as-world-once-again-looks-away http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/02/high-commissioner-turk-calls-states-do-more-end-senseless-war-sudan http://www.msf.org/sudan-msf-treats-around-170-people-drone-injuries-two-weeks http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/12/un-human-rights-chief-warns-against-atrocities-sudans-kordofan-region http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/statement-operational-humanitarian-country-team-sudan-violence-kordofan-region   19 Jan. 2026   Atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region are spreading from town to town in an organized campaign of violence that includes mass executions, rape and ethnic targeting, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court told the UN Security Council on Monday.   Briefing ambassadors, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said the situation in Darfur had “darkened even further,” with civilians subjected to what she described as collective torture amid a widening war between Sudan’s rival military forces.   “The picture that is emerging is appalling: organised, widespread, mass criminality including mass executions,” Ms. Khan said. “Atrocities are used as a tool to assert control.”   Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between former allies the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces militia (RSF).   What began as a power struggle metastasised into conflicts across the country, most devastating in the Darfur region, which also saw longstanding ethnic tensions – which prompted allegations of genocide in the early 2000s – being reignited.   She said the fall of North Darfur’s regional capital El Fasher to the RSF had been followed by a “calculated campaign of the most profound suffering,” particularly targeting non-Arab communities.   The crimes, she said, include rape, arbitrary detention, executions and the creation of mass graves, often filmed and celebrated by perpetrators.   Based on video, audio and satellite evidence collected, the ICC Prosecutor has concluded that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed in El Fasher, particularly in late October, following a prolonged RSF siege of the city.   Ms. Khan said video footage showed patterns similar to those documented in earlier atrocities in Darfur, including the detention, mistreatment and killing of civilians from non-Arab tribes.   “Members of the RSF are seen celebrating direct executions and subsequently desecrating corpses,” she said.   The Office of the Prosecutor is also advancing investigations into crimes committed in El Geneina, where witnesses have provided accounts of attacks on displacement camps, looting, gender-based violence and crimes against children.   In 2023, El Geneina witnessed some of the worst violence of the war as RSF fighters and allied militias carried out massacres against the Massalit community, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee into neighbouring Chad.   UN officials and human rights investigators described the violence as ethnically motivated and warned of possible crimes against humanity.   Evidence now indicates that the patterns of atrocities seen in El Geneina have since been replicated in El Fasher, Ms. Khan said.   “This criminality is being repeated in town after town in Darfur,” she warned. “It will continue until this conflict, and the sense of impunity that fuels it, are stopped.”   Sexual violence, including rape, is being used as a weapon of war, Ms. Khan said, adding that gender-based crimes remain a priority for ICC investigations. She acknowledged cultural and security barriers that prevent survivors from reporting abuse, stressing the need for gender-sensitive and survivor-centred investigations.   While much of the briefing focused on RSF abuses, the Deputy Prosecutor said the ICC was also documenting allegations of crimes committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), underscoring that all parties to the conflict are bound by international law to protect civilians.   http://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-office-prosecutor-situation-el-fasher-north-darfur http://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c75veyzz2g2o http://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/opinion/sudan-genocide.html http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/sudan-evidence-el-fasher-reveals-genocidal-campaign-targeting-non-arab http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/02/high-commissioner-turk-calls-states-do-more-end-senseless-war-sudan http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/02/1167003 http://www.unocha.org/news/ocha-urges-security-council-protect-civilians-and-aid-workers-sudan http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/12/sudan-must-address-ethnic-violence-and-prevent-further-escalation-un http://www.ohchr.org/en/meeting-summaries/2025/11/human-rights-council-calls-urgent-inquiry-recent-alleged-violations http://www.hrw.org/news/2026/01/26/iccs-work-vital-for-justice-in-darfur   Jan. 2026   1,000 days of war has devastating impact on the children of Sudan. (UNICEF)   “Since fighting erupted in April 2023, Sudan has become one of the largest and most devastating humanitarian crises in the world, pushing millions of children to the brink of survival.   A profound protection crisis with widespread violations of international law by parties to the conflict, exacerbated by a lack of humanitarian access, has deepened with each of the 1,000 days of agony that have passed.   "In 2026, 33.7 million people, about two-thirds of the population, are expected to need urgent humanitarian assistance. Half of them are children. Affected populations’ access to lifesaving aid remains dangerously constrained across large parts of the country, intensifying the humanitarian crisis.   “Children continue to be killed and injured – just this week, 8 children were killed in an attack in Al Obeid in North Kordofan.   “More than 5 million children have been forced from their homes – the equivalent of 5,000 children displaced every day - many of them repeatedly, with attacks and violence often following them as they move. Millions of children in Sudan are at risk of rape and other forms of sexual violence, which is being used as a tactic of war, with children as young as one reported among survivors.   "An estimated 21 million people are expected to face acute food insecurity in 2026. Famine has already been confirmed in Al Fasher and Kadugli, with an additional 20 areas across Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan at risk.   In North Darfur, the epicentre of Sudan’s malnutrition emergency, nearly 85,000 children with severe acute malnutrition were treated between January and November 2025, equivalent to one child every six minutes.   The collapse of health systems, critical water shortages and the breakdown of basic services are compounding the crisis, fuelling deadly disease outbreaks and placing an estimated 3.4 million children under five at risk.   “Behind these numbers are lives marked by fear, hunger and loss, as the conflict continues to rob children of safety, health and hope.   “Despite these extraordinary insecurity and access constraints, life-saving assistance continues to reach children wherever possible.   UNICEF and partners are delivering support to treat severe malnutrition, vaccinate against deadly diseases, provide safe drinking water, and offer protection and care to children affected by violence and displacement as funding permits.   “These efforts are keeping children alive under the most difficult conditions, but they remain far from sufficient in the absence of sustained access, adequate funding and a meaningful reduction in hostilities. Humanitarian action can save lives, but it cannot replace the protection that only peace can provide.   “UNICEF is urgently calling for an immediate end to the conflict. All parties must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law: protect civilians, stop attacks on infrastructure, and allow safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access across Sudan.   “Children in Sudan are not statistics. They are frightened, displaced and hungry, but they are also determined, resourceful and resilient. Every day, they strive to learn, to play, to hope, even as they wait for the world to act. Ending this conflict is a moral necessity. It cannot wait.”   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/children-sudan-have-endured-1000-days-agony http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/nutrition-survey-finds-unprecedented-level-child-malnutrition-part-sudans-north http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-director-warns-deepening-protection-crisis-sudan-violence-and http://www.wfp.org/news/families-sudan-pushed-brink-amidst-brutal-conflict-and-famine-wfp-resources-dry   Jan. 2026   Sudan: Two-thirds of people need aid as conflict reaches 1,000th day. (OCHA)   Today marks 1,000 days since the start of the war in Sudan, with civilians continuing to bear the brunt of a conflict they did not choose. Nearly 34 million people – or some two-thirds of the population – now need humanitarian assistance, making this the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.   It is also the largest displacement crisis, with 9.3 million people displaced inside the country and more than 4.3 million refugees in neighbouring states.   Food security conditions are catastrophic. Famine has been confirmed in El Fasher in North Darfur and in Kadugli in South Kordofan, with at least 20 other areas at risk. More than 21 million people are estimated to be acutely food insecure nationwide. Sieges in Kordofan have cut off Kadugli and Dilling, limiting access to food, markets and farmland.   The health system is close to collapse. Fewer than half of health facilities are fully functional, with even lower coverage in areas of active fighting. Cholera has been reported in all 18 states, with more than 72,000 suspected cases recorded last year.   Nearly 12 million people, mostly women and girls, are at risk of gender-based violence. Households headed by women are three times more likely to be food insecure, and three-quarters report not having enough to eat.   OCHA also reports continued fighting in Darfur, drone attacks and long-range strikes on civilian infrastructure.   Despite the mounting challenges, humanitarian partners reached millions of people in 2025, with local and women-led organizations often serving as the first or only responders in high-risk areas. However, access remains dangerous and politically constrained, and more than 125 aid workers have been killed since April 2023.   OCHA calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, respect for international humanitarian law, safe access for aid, protection of civilians and aid workers, and renewed funding, especially for local and women-led partners.   http://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2026/article/sudan-4 http://humanitarianaction.info/plan/1514 http://www.unocha.org/news/todays-top-news-sudan-ukraine-occupied-palestinian-territory http://news.un.org/en/audio/2026/01/1166795 http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/01/visiting-turk-salutes-sudanese-peoples-struggle-peace-calls   15 Jan. 2026   Families in Sudan pushed to the brink amidst brutal conflict and famine as resources dry up. (WFP)   As Sudan marks more than 1,000 days of brutal conflict this month, what has become the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis shows no signs of abating. This comes as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is struggling to keep life-saving emergency operations running.   WFP has reached millions of the most vulnerable women, men, and children in Sudan with emergency food, cash, and nutrition assistance since the resurgence of civil conflict in April 2023. The agency continues to deliver life-saving food aid to an average of four million people every month, including in previously hard-to-reach areas across the Darfur and Kordofan regions, and Khartoum and Al Jazira states.   “These hard-earned gains now risk being reversed,” said Ross Smith, WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response. “WFP has been forced to reduce rations to the absolute minimum for survival. By the end of March, we will have depleted our food stocks in Sudan. Without immediate additional funding, millions of people will be left without vital food assistance within weeks.“   WFP has teams on-the-ground and the access to scale up and save more lives, funding permitted. Over the last six months, nearly 1.8 million people - in famine or risk of famine areas - have received regular monthly WFP assistance helping to push back hunger in nine locations.   After more than two years of fighting, more than 21 million people face acute hunger in Sudan. Famine has been confirmed in parts of the country where months of fighting made access for aid workers largely impossible, and nearly 12 million people have been forced to flee their homes.   Today, 3.7 million children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are also malnourished. Recent surveys indicate record levels of malnutrition in some locations of North Darfur where up to more than half of the young children are malnourished.   "One thousand days of conflict is one thousand days too many. Every single day that fighting continues, families are falling deeper into hunger and communities are pushed further to the brink," said Smith. "We can turn the tide and avert famine conditions spreading further, but only if we have the funding to support these most vulnerable families.”   WFP urgently requires USD700 million to continue its operations in Sudan from January to June.   http://www.wfp.org/news/families-sudan-pushed-brink-amidst-brutal-conflict-and-famine-wfp-resources-dry http://news.un.org/en/focus-topic/sudan-conflict-2023
	Humanitarian agencies are witnessing alarming human suffering due to a proliferation of conflicts by WVI, OCHA, Global Protection Cluster, agencies   Dec. 2025   This statement is delivered on behalf of 108 Non Governmenmt Organisations, including humanitarian organisations with operations in countries covered by the Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO):   We are witnessing unspeakable human suffering due to the proliferation of conflicts lacking political solutions and the normalization of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations. Indiscriminate attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers, the bombing of schools and hospitals, and the use of starvation and sexual violence as methods of warfare are devastating communities worldwide.   Climate shocks, economic fragility, and protracted conflict are exacerbating humanitarian needs, leading to unprecedented levels of displacement and an escalating global hunger crisis.   Boundary-setting and narrower definitions of people in need are resulting in a highly prioritized 2026 GHO. With limited complementarity with development and other actors, it is unclear who will target those left behind. Despite exceptional prioritization efforts, humanitarian funding lags behind and Overseas Development Assistance cuts impact both humanitarian action and development gains.   We must turn the tide together in 2026. We urge donors to fully fund the 2026 GHO and to provide quality funding as early as possible in the year to enable flexible, timely, and principled humanitarian action.   The catastrophic effects of IHL violations – including on children, women, and people living with disabilities – urgently require donors’ re-commitment to the traditionally underfunded sectors of gender and Gender Based Violence, education and child protection in emergencies, and the stepping up of funding for hunger and forced displacement.   We call for a substantial increase in the volume and quality of funding to local and national actors, including Women’s organizations, whose essential leadership in humanitarian response must be recognized. This should be rooted in accountability to - and meaningful participation of affected people.   All stakeholders must redouble efforts to prevent and resolve conflict, and we urge humanitarian, development, peace and climate actors to work together to make nexus programming a reality and foster resilience. This requires increased Overseas Development Asistance (ODA) directed to fragile settings.   Nothing will reduce humanitarian needs unless civilians are protected. The 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions is also a year of unconscionable IHL violations. We urge parties to conflicts to abide by their obligations, and we call on governments to leverage their influence and ensure that the consistent application of IHL is a top priority.   http://www.wvi.org/newsroom/emergencies/nogs-call-action-and-funding-global-humanitarian-overview   As the UN and partners launch the new 2026 global humanitarian appeal today – aiming to support 135 million people in 50 countries – Islamic Relief has joined 89 NGOs and networks to issue this collective statement (Extract):   This has been a year like no other for millions of people enduring unimaginable hardship amid escalating conflicts, hunger, displacement, climate disasters and inequality. The number and intensity of conflicts worldwide are at their highest since modern records began in 1946, threatening global peace and security. The political pushback against inclusion and gender equality is already reversing hard won gains and threatening women and girls’ rights worldwide, especially in conflict settings.   Violations of international humanitarian law – meted out with savage cruelty – are met with barely more than a shrug. Aid is obstructed, and humanitarian and healthcare workers are being killed or injured in record numbers. War crimes and crimes against humanity, including the use of starvation and gender-based violence as weapons, draw condemnation but little or no concrete action to protect civilians, fuelling the crisis of trust and legitimacy our sector is facing. Women of all ages, children, people living with disabilities, and older persons are among the hardest hit.   The humanitarian crises we are called to address result in large part from a lack of political leadership. Despite much-publicised peace deals, there is no political will to maintain peace or hold perpetrators of international crimes accountable. Many crises have persisted for decades, with a total failure to address the underlying causes.   Brutal cuts to humanitarian assistance have plunged communities deeper into poverty and deprivation, stripping resources from local and national organizations that are first responders. In March, nearly half of women-led organisations feared they would have to shut down. A more recent UN Women survey of civil society and women’s rights organisations found nearly 100% were affected by aid cuts; for three-quarters, the impact was significant.   The Feminist Humanitarian Network has documented a disproportionate impact on organisations led by women with disabilities, young women, and indigenous women. Child protection capacity has also been drastically affected, with over half of surveyed local and national organisations losing 40% of child protection budgets. Even before this year’s cuts, ODI research has shown that refugee-led organisations received a pittance in funding, just USD 49 million in 2024.   The scale of suffering is impossible to capture, but some examples provide a window into the horror:   The number and intensity of conflicts have more than doubled since 2010, reaching the highest number since 1946. Existing conflicts are more protracted, and new conflicts loom on the horizon. Spending on weapons has surged; revenues from sales of arms and military services reached a record USD 679 billion in 2024, 18 times the amount that was spent on humanitarian aid in the same year.   Between 2023 and 2024, the number of women and children killed in armed conflicts quadrupled compared with the previous two years. More than 1 in every 5 children now lives in a conflict zone. This year’s annual report on children and armed conflict recorded a 45% increase in grave violations against children in 2024, compared with 2022. Widespread impunity allows violations against civilians to continue undeterred.   Famine was declared in the Middle East for the first time under the IPC system, as civilians in Gaza were deliberately starved. Famine has also been confirmed by the IPC in Sudan, and is again a risk in South Sudan, while Haiti, Mali, and Yemen are hotspots of highest concern. Millions of people in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and elsewhere are at emergency levels of acute food insecurity.   Climate change continues to devastate communities across the world, fuelling conflicts and displacement.   Forced displacement has doubled in the past 10 years, but is met with decisions by states to cut funding and implement efforts to deter migration, externalise asylum procedures, reduce refugee protection space, and renege on their burden-sharing responsibilities. These policies and the lack of legal pathways for migration also contribute to the rise in human trafficking.   Women of all ages and girls in conflict settings, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, and Sudan, who are often at the forefront of community-led response, face unacceptable gender-based violence, including horrific sexual violence.   Women and girls are affected by high levels of reproductive violence, including deliberate destruction or blocking of sexual and reproductive healthcare. In 2023, 58% of maternal deaths, 50% of newborn deaths, and 51% of stillbirths occurred worldwide in 29 countries with humanitarian crises. This is expected to worsen, as many women of all ages and girls face life threatening consequences from the loss of access to quality health services.   The decline in funding that followed the COVID-19 response along with the progressive prioritisation, tightening, and boundary-setting, including the “hyper-prioritisation” of the 2025 GHO, have already left millions behind. The 2026 GHO edition has been tightened further.   We appreciate the continued investment in evidence-based identification of both the full number of people in need of assistance, those most in need, and those to be targeted. But we warn that we have reached the limits of “severity of needs analysis”. As the Emergency Relief Coordinator noted, “the cruel math of doing less with less” comes down to an impossible choice of who lives, who does not and between “saving lives today and giving people any chance at a future tomorrow”.   The loss of thousands of staff across the sector directly impacts communities. We have less capacity to coordinate, and to assess and meet the needs of people requiring assistance.   Even with reduced capacity, what we do know is that needs are at unacceptable levels and continue to grow.   Decline in development funding, in disarmament and peace efforts, and failure to limit the impacts of climate change mean that root causes remain unaddressed. Worryingly, states are withdrawing from multilateral agreements, such as the Ottawa Treaty, that were developed with the goal of better protecting civilians.   Despite broad public support for aid in most donor countries, politicians pander to anti-aid actors, adopting narratives and policies that create a sense of “us versus them” for their constituencies. We urge donors to resist these narratives and fully fund the 2026 GHO with timely, quality funding that reaches local and national organizations as directly as possible, including those led by women, which are often best placed to respond.   Humanitarian suffering anywhere is a concern for us all. We call upon all nations and additional stakeholders, including private sector, Multilateral and International Financial Institutions, to contribute principled and quality humanitarian funding.   Political action to prevent and end conflict is paramount. We need more ODA, including development and peace funding, directed to fragile and conflict-affected settings.   We need political action to firmly defend humanitarian norms and values. We welcome initiatives to improve compliance and accountability, such as the Global Initiative to Galvanise Political Commitment to IHL and the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel. Such efforts remind us that the law is clear. What is lacking is the political will to respect it.   Violations must end. Parties to conflicts must uphold their obligations, and all governments must use their influence and fulfil their responsibility to end impunity and ensure consistent adherence to international law.   http://reliefweb.int/report/world/year-no-other-ngo-statement-launch-new-un-2026-appeal http://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2026/article/under-fire-and-under-pressure-what-happens-when-humanitarian-action-hindered http://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2026/article/trends-crises-and-needs-world-breaking-point http://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2026/article/humanitarians-action-delivering-2025-amid-extreme-challenges http://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2026   http://www.icrc.org/en/article/humanitarian-outlook-2026 http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-calls-urgent-investment-life-saving-services-children-global-humanitarian http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-prioritize-feeding-110-million-hungriest-2026-global-hunger-deepens-amidst-uncertain http://www.unhcr.org/news/press-releases/despite-funding-cuts-unhcr-responded-multiple-complex-emergencies-last-year http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/december/2026-millions-in-need-will-not-get-aid-unless-global-solidarity-revived http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2025/12/11/abrupt-transitions-global-humanitarian-overview-pushes-dangerous-trend http://www.rescue.org/press-release/irc-emergency-watchlist-2026-new-world-disorder-driving-unprecedented-humanitarian   The State of Protection in 2025. (Global Protection Cluster)   This note aims to support Member States in aligning political, financial and operational support with realities on the ground. This year’s context is shaped by two major shifts: the deepening of protection risks in large-scale conflicts and protracted crises – from Gaza, Sudan and eastern DRC to Myanmar, Ukraine and multiple contexts across the Sahel and the Americas – and the restructuring of the humanitarian system under the Humanitarian Reset, which prioritises life-saving outcomes and simplified coordination amid significant funding cuts.   Global Protection Trends   The global protection landscape in 2025 is marked by a scale and severity of civilian harm that surpasses previous years. According to the Global Protection Update of October 2025, an estimated 395 million people in 23 countries are exposed to protection risks (including 254 million in Africa, 78 million in Asia, 28 million in the Americas, 20 million in MENA and 15 million in Ukraine).   This number reflects individuals and communities facing direct, often life-threatening threats from violence, coercion and deliberate deprivation. The estimate is based on extensive monitoring of protection risks at subnational level undertaken by Protection Clusters, complemented by 24 national and subnational Protection Analysis Updates published in 2025.   The analysis confirms that the most severe and recurrent protection risks include attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, abductions, arbitrary detentions, severe movement restrictions and forced displacement, all driven by conflicts and by the growing disregard for and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and the lack of accountability for it.   Gender-based violence, impediments to and denial of legal identity, and intensifying psychosocial distress, compounded by the denial of essential services and opportunities, are consistently reported at severe levels, further highlighting the impact of these risks on crisis-affected individuals.   Harm to civilians is increasingly heightened by social, psychological, and economic threats that extend beyond physical dangers. These are driven by societal norms, misinformation, and failures within legal systems, exploiting vulnerabilities such as social exclusion, limited awareness of rights, and economic instability.   This year’s trends show clearer, group-specific patterns of harm: for example, men and boys remain heavily affected by abductions and illegal detention, while children face persistent risks of family separation and forced recruitment (especially boys). Women and girls continue to be disproportionately impacted, with early and forced marriage and other gender-based harms.   These patterns highlight an increased stratification of protection risks. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Myanmar, the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt - Gaza & West Bank), Sudan, and Ukraine face the most extreme situations.   This year, the deterioration was most visible in Gaza, where the crisis has deepened into famine amid continued bombardment and the destruction of civilian infrastructure and lives. In Sudan, particularly in El Fasher, civilians remained trapped in siege-like conditions for more than 500 days followed by horrendous rapes, killings and other abuses.   In the eastern DRC, the rapid escalation of the M23 offensive in January resulted in the capture of Goma and Bukavu within three weeks, the killing of an estimated 3,000 people, and the displacement of over one million additional people, bringing total internal displacement to 6.4 million.   Myanmar continues to experience widespread rights violations, with more than 19,900 people arrested since the 2021 coup and 7,100 still in detention, including humanitarian workers. In Mozambique, escalation of attacks on civilians and civilian objects, and destruction of property has led in recent weeks to forced displacement of nearly 100.000 people.   The number of people displaced by gang violence in Haiti doubled from September 2024 to October 2025, while killings, kidnapping and sexual violence are being used as tactics to extort and terrorize communities.   Other crises reflect a similar pattern of risk concentration. In Venezuela, the collapse of public institutions, combined with extreme economic decline is driving families into negative coping mechanisms such as child marriage, child labour and trafficking.   Across the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, armed group activity, forced recruitment, displacement, sexual violence and denial of services continue to dominate the protection landscape, while growing insecurity further constrains humanitarian access.   A coordinated subnational analysis by the Protection Cluster and partners covering 2,673 administrative areas in 23 countries, shows that in every country assessed, many communities are living in areas where multiple severe or extreme protection risks overlap. All countries in the analysis have at least one area facing combined severe or extreme protection risks.   Overall, 32% of all assessed areas across the 23 countries face extreme or severe levels of violence, coercion and deprivation.   For example, in Afghanistan, some districts are exposed to eleven severe or extreme risks at the same time. Communities in Burkina Faso. South Sudan, Niger, Somalia, Myanmar and Colombia see overlapping patterns of violence, deprivation and limited access leaving populations with almost no protective options.   Given the current humanitarian context – marked by significant service gaps and limited response capacity – it is essential to identify specific geographic areas where the combination of violence, coercion, and deliberate deprivation is not only acute and harmful, but at clear risk of further escalation.   This situation is highly worrying and leads to further deterioration when communities are hit by natural hazards or the impacts of climate change. In areas where protection risks already overlap, contingency planning and preparedness are extremely difficult, and natural hazards become far more devastating, creating new protection risks, and increasing humanitarian needs.   Recent examples include severe flooding in South Sudan, Nigeria, Venezuela and earthquakes in Myanmar and Afghanistan, which have displaced large populations, exposed them to heightened protection risks (19.9 million in Myanmar and 1.2 million in Afghanistan), disrupted essential services and worsened pre-existing vulnerabilities.   In these contexts, individuals face the combined effects of environmental hazards, conflict and exclusion – an interaction that greatly increases the risks of exploitation, violence, loss of property and family separation.   Protection risks remain high in countries experiencing accelerated transition, where changes in humanitarian presence and programming create additional vulnerabilities.   In Cameroon, the Far North, Southwest and Northwest regions face high levels of abductions, kidnappings, unlawful detentions and killings. In Colombia, an estimated 167 municipalities face at least four of the 15 protection risks at severe or extreme levels.   In Nigeria, 11 Local Government Area (LGAs) face a similar combination of risks. Across several operations (Afghanistan, DRC, Syria) massive return movements have occurred – sometimes under adverse circumstances – underscoring the critical need for sustained protection support to ensure that people can return in safety, dignity, and with their rights upheld.   Emerging protection challenges are increasingly shaped by both deliberate tactics of harm and rapid technological change. In several crises, the weaponization of food, the use of famine as a method of warfare, and siege tactics are being employed to exert control over civilian populations, cutting off access to essential goods and services and exacerbating vulnerabilities.   The continued, and at times increasing, use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war to exert power and control, deny and destroy the lives and dignity of women, children and also men remain worrying.   At the same time, technology is transforming the protection landscape: while digital tools can improve early warning, communication, and access to assistance, they also introduce risks such as surveillance, data exploitation, misinformation, technology facilitated violence, and exclusion of those without digital access. Together, these dynamics demand adapted protection strategies that address both intentional deprivation and the evolving digital threats facing affected communities.   The use of new methods of warfare – particularly drones – by state forces, armed groups, and gangs is outpacing existing prevention, protection, and response capacities, creating new and poorly regulated risk environments for civilians.   The use of explosive weapons in populated areas is only adding to an already dire situation.   The rapid concentration of humanitarian assistance in a limited number of locations, combined with widespread service reductions, is shifting disproportionate responsibility and risk onto local NGOs and frontline actors – often without the resources, security guarantees, or institutional support required to operate safely and effectively. Together, these trends point to a global protection environment where conflict-driven risks, discrimination, deliberate deprivation and institutional collapse increasingly overlap.   The deterioration is widespread, multi-dimensional and advancing faster than the humanitarian architecture, even after the Reset, can adapt to.   Large segments of the population are now directly exposed to severe violence, coercion and deprivation, driven by the flagrant disregard and violations of IHL and human rights law and lack of accountability for it.   These harms are further compounded by discriminatory norms, misinformation, weak legal systems, limited awareness about rights and economic instability.   Protection in the Context of the Humanitarian Reset   The Humanitarian Reset, announced in March 2025, represents a system-wide effort to reform humanitarian action, improve efficiency and sharpen the focus on life-saving activities. For the protection community and in light of the protection situation across the globe, the Reset has reinforced a core message: most humanitarian crises are fundamentally protection crises – stemming from repeated violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, deliberate deprivation and systemic exclusion.   The Reset is taking place amid historic funding cuts that threaten the continued delivery of essential protection services. In 2024, protection actors received US$1.9 billion (53% of the US$3.6 billion required). By 30th November 2025, the Protection Cluster and its AoRs have received 34% of its US$3.5 billion requirement, with projected shortfalls of up to 66% across major crises.   Financial resources for protection are not necessarily evenly distributed across crises. For instance, emergencies in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Myanmar, and Haiti have particularly large protection funding gaps (less than 25% funded), while several protracted crises remain chronically underfunded (Somalia, Yemen, the Sahel and the Americas). The 10 most underfunded protection crises this year are El Salvador, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Honduras, Guatemala, Mozambique, Somalia, Venezuela, Haiti.   The hyper-prioritisation exercise launched in June 2025 provides a stark illustration of this growing gap between needs and available resources. Across all operations, 168 million people were identified as in need of protection; however, only 24.7 million people – 14.7% of the total – could be prioritised under the hyper-prioritised plans. This left 143.3 million people unreached, despite high levels of exposure to harm.   Meeting the protection needs of even this reduced caseload required US$1.2 billion in urgently mobilised resources. Funding gaps are growing faster and becoming larger.   Protection actors have long had to adapt and work together to keep the most critical services going. What is different and more worrying this year is the impact these gaps are having on how protection is delivered. Protection programmes were forced to scale down or stop altogether in multiple countries, increasing the risk of exposure to violence and exploitation.   A shrinking humanitarian footprint is also weakening early warning and protection monitoring in many contexts, shifting away from prevention. Loss of experienced protection staff has weakened survivor-centered care and the delivery of specialized services.   If funding pressures continue, reduced protection presence on the ground will mean more violations undetected, delays in critical response, and greater exposure of civilians to escalating threats.   Women-led and survivor-led organisations were disproportionally impacted by the funding cuts and report shrinking civic space and growing operational constraints. The closure of Women and Girls Safe Spaces and Child Friendly Spaces, case management and other essential services is already happening in numerous operations, eroding hard-won gains in Child Protection and Gender Based Violence prevention and response and community led engagement.   Meanwhile, the Reset is accelerating the transition of humanitarian coordination structures in countries such as Cameroon, Colombia, Eritrea, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Careful planning and adequate resourcing are needed to mitigate protection gaps in contexts where national systems have limited capacity to take on these responsibilities.   The transition process and planning must be grounded in a robust protection analysis that systematically consider remaining protection risks and resulting needs that may be exacerbated by, or result from, changes to the coordination of the humanitarian response, and population groups at risk of being left behind.   Protection must be recognised, resourced and supported as central to life-saving action. Without this recognition, the narrowing of the humanitarian response footprint risks amplifying the very protection risks the Reset seeks to address.   Uphold international law and demand protection of civilians.   Member States should press all parties to immediately cease violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, including combating impunity and holding those responsible for violation accountable.   This includes preventing forced displacement, siege-like situations, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, conflict related sexual violence, child recruitment and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. They should ensure communities retain access to essential services, resources, and assistance.   Sustaining protection requires long-term support to community-based structures, women-led and survivor-led organisations, organisations of persons with disabilities, and other frontline actors. Donors should provide flexible, multi-year funding that enables these organisations to operate safely, maintain services, and participate in coordination and decision-making.   Protection outcomes cannot be achieved through humanitarian action alone. Member States should advocate for embedding protection-risk reduction and measurable outcomes as accountability benchmarks across financing, reporting, and oversight mechanisms, and ensuring protection risk analysis and conflict prevention systematically informs diplomatic, peacebuilding, and development decision-making.   Member State representatives should work closely with protection actors to ensure that protection considerations shape humanitarian policies, high-level negotiations, and operational planning. Protection risks reduction must remain a core objective across inter-agency coordination mechanisms, leadership and pooled funding decisions, and transition processes.   http://globalprotectioncluster.org/index.php/publications/2393/communication-materials/advocacy-note/high-level-humanitarian-donors-briefing http://alliancecpha.org/en/annual-meeting-2026/background-paper Visit the related web page
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