The United Nations and its aid partners launched their 2026 global humanitarian appeal on Monday to raise a total of US$33 billion to support 135 million people in need through 23 country operations and six plans for refugees and migrants. The appeal aims to save millions of lives in some of the world's most crisis-stricken regions, including those affected by war, hunger, climate disasters, earthquakes, and epidemics.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the immediate priority for 2026 is to save 87 million lives with $23 billion in funding.
Although the number of people in need included in the 2026 Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) is 239 million, which is lower than the 300 million reported in 2025, this does not indicate a reduction in suffering. Rather, it is mainly due to different analytical methods and a narrower focus.
Many country and regional plans have been removed, so the people facing the most urgent crisis-driven needs included in the GHO represent only a fraction of the global suffering. Critics argue that the massive reduction in the reported number of people in need is wishful thinking or a way to dress up the accounts instead of reporting on today's global realities.
“This appeal sets out where we need to focus our collective energy first: life by life,” said UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, arguing that the GHO 2026 was grounded in reform, evidence and efficiency.
“We’re shifting power to local organizations, putting more money directly into the hands of the people who need it, and behind it all, we are renewing and reimagining humanitarian action with idealism, humility and hope,” he added.
In the face of horrifying violence, hunger, displacement, and disease, aid agencies are attempting to maximize the impact of every dollar, allocating resources to the areas hit hardest by crises.
Funding for 2025 lowest in a decade
The highly prioritized 2026 appeal follows a year when humanitarian lifelines were strained and, in some places, broke due to severe funding cuts. The $12.7 billion raised for the 2025 appeal was the lowest in a decade, and humanitarian organizations reached 25 million fewer people than in 2024.
The GHO 2025 requested $45 billion, but only 28 percent of that amount has been met as of today, leaving a staggering $32.8 billion gap.
The consequences of the lack of funding have been immediate: hunger has surged, health systems are under crushing strain, education has deteriorated, mine clearance has stalled, and families are facing one blow after another: no shelter, no cash assistance, and no protection services.
In June 2025, amid the deepest funding cuts ever to hit the international humanitarian sector, the United Nations relief chief presented a first global "hyper-prioritized" appeal — based on the GHO 2025 — which aimed to help 114 million people facing life-threatening needs worldwide.
Consequences of funding cuts are being widely felt
The consequences of the funding cuts have been devastating. Humanitarian organizations, including UN agencies and non-governmental aid organizations, have been heavily impacted and have responded with severe cutbacks. This includes suspending life-saving programs such as food assistance and healthcare for those in the greatest need.
Despite the immense suffering of people worldwide, many donor countries have turned inward, drastically cutting humanitarian funding and failing to address the needs of the most vulnerable. Rather than providing lifesaving support to those in urgent need around the world, countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are increasing their spending on arms.
The UN will now present the appeal to the member states and request their support. Countries will also be urged to increase the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers, in armed conflicts by holding the perpetrators — as well as those who arm them — accountable.
Fletcher said he will then share the amounts committed and answer a simple question: "Did governments show up? The answer will define who lives and who falls through the cracks."
Governments are failing not only with regard to funding, but in other respects as well. There are two main drivers of urgent humanitarian needs around the world. Both are human-made and could be reversed through collective, concerted action if governments across the globe chose to do so.
Armed conflict remains the leading cause of death, displacement, and hunger. Civilians are enduring a record number of armed conflicts, which are marked by an increased disregard for international humanitarian and human rights, including mass atrocities and attacks on health and educational facilities.
From Sudan to Gaza, Haiti to Myanmar, and Ukraine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), horrifying violence, hunger, displacement, and disease are tearing people’s lives apart. Amidst this devastation, civilians are exposed to utter disregard for the laws of war, and more than 320 aid workers have been killed this year—the vast majority of whom were local staff.
Meanwhile, climate change is exacerbating disasters, and geological events like earthquakes are further impacting communities already in crisis, as seen in Afghanistan and Myanmar this year.
Countries and regions in focus
The largest individual humanitarian response plans for 2026 are for the Occupied Palestinian Territory ($4.1 billion for 3 million people), Syria ($3.2 billion for 10.3 million people), Sudan ($2.9 billion for 20 million people), and Yemen ($2.5 billion for 10.5 million people).
The two largest of the remaining six regional refugee plans are for Syria, with $2.8 billion sought for 8.6 million refugees and host communities, and for Sudan, with $1.5 billion sought for 6.1 million refugees and host communities.
In Sudan, the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, 33.7 million people are in urgent need overall, which is also driving a refugee crisis in neighboring countries. Critical needs persist in South Sudan (10 million people) and Somalia (4.8 million), while conflict has spread to northern Mozambique (1.6 million people).
Conflict, violence, and insecurity are also driving needs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (14.9 million people in urgent need) and the Central African Republic (CAR) (2.3 million). Needs are also high in the Sahel region and bordering countries, such as Nigeria (5.9 million), Mali (5.1 million), and Burkina Faso (4.4 million), while refugees and host communities in Chad urgently require assistance (4 million), and critical needs remain in Cameroon (2.9 million) and Niger (2.6 million).
In Afghanistan, earthquakes and the most severe drought in decades have left 22.5 million people in urgent need. In Myanmar, intensifying conflict and earthquake recovery have left 16.2 million people in urgent need, with the Rohingya crisis continuing to affect an additional 1.9 million people.
Escalating gang violence in Haiti has left 6.4 million people in urgent need, while the situation in Venezuela has impacted millions within the country and throughout the region. Conflict and displacement have also increased in Colombia. However, the countries of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) have been removed from the appeal.
The Ukraine crisis continues to drive urgent needs, especially for people in frontline areas. Ukrainians who have fled to neighboring countries continue to require long-term support, despite the removal of the Ukraine Regional Refugee Response Plan from the global appeal.
The humanitarian response plans for Ethiopia and Lebanon have also been eliminated, as have the Regional Refugee Response Plans (RRRPs) for Afghanistan, DRC, and South Sudan.
Further information
Website: Global Humanitarian Overview 2026, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
https://humanitarianaction.info/