Archive for category: Aid

,

Refugee Funding Diversification

Refugee Funding DiversificationThe humanitarian landscape is constantly evolving as conflicts force civilians to flee their countries in search of safety. In 2025, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) faced significant funding challenges, raising $3.578 billion, while its 2026 Global Appeal estimates that $8.505 billion is needed to protect, assist and empower forcibly displaced and stateless people. This funding gap highlights the importance of diversifying the sources of humanitarian assistance and developing innovative approaches to refugee funding.

For decades, the United States (U.S.) has been the world’s largest donor to UNHCR, enabling the organization to coordinate funding for emergency shelters, health care and refugee education. However, in recent months, uncertainty about future U.S. funding has intensified, prompting governments and humanitarian organizations to seek new partnerships and approaches.

Gulf States: A Growing Source of Global Support Funding

Gulf States have long played an important role in humanitarian assistance, ranking among the largest donors. As uncertainty over future U.S. funding persists, these expanding partnerships are increasingly viewed as an important part of a broader effort to diversify the global refugee funding base.

Despite their growing financial support through the years, none of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states officially recognize the legal concept of refugeehood, as they have never signed the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. Instead, they provide support through partnerships with UNHCR, Islamic philanthropy initiatives and bilateral aid programs.

UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund, launched in 2017, has grown into a trusted global funding source for refugees, distinguished by its strong commitment to transparency. Zakat, an obligatory form of almsgiving in Islam, channels charitable giving to those in need.

The fund is an example of refugee funding diversification, receiving more than $23 million in Zakat in 2025 and assisting nearly 580,000 eligible refugees and internally displaced people across 17 countries. Overall, the fund raised $39 million through Islamic philanthropy and reached more than one million displaced people across 25 countries.

The European Union’s Role

The European Union (EU) and its members, including Germany and the European Commission, are among UNHCR’s largest donors, providing substantial financial support for humanitarian assistance and refugee protection.

Alongside direct global refugee funding, the EU supports neighboring host countries, such as Jordan and Türkiye, to improve access to education, health care and employment opportunities for refugees. It also provides financial support to frontline countries, such as Greece, to strengthen asylum systems and refugee integration.

Diversifying refugee funding can strengthen assistance by bringing together governments, international organizations and philanthropic partners. Balancing these demands will be key to strengthening refugee funding diversification and determining the level of additional support the EU can provide to the global refugee funding system.

Conclusion

Governments and humanitarian organizations are realizing the importance of increasingly diversifying funding sources and expanding policies that promote refugee self-reliance. Initiatives such as UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund demonstrate how Islamic philanthropy can complement government contributions and reach vulnerable communities. At the same time, continued support from major donors such as the European Union remains essential.

Together, government funding, philanthropic giving and policies that promote refugee self-reliance can help humanitarian organizations respond to growing needs while reducing reliance on any single source of funding.

– Clara Iglesias Romero

Clara is based in Galicia, Spain and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

, ,

The Taliban and the Afghan People: Oppression and Poverty

Taliban and the Afghan PeopleFive years ago, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, dismantling two decades of legal reform and setting aside the country’s constitution in favor of the group’s own interpretation of Islamic law. For the Afghan people, and especially for women and girls, the impact of the Taliban has been severe and, according to a recent report from Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security, unprecedented in the modern era.

A Government Built on Decree

Before 2021, Afghanistan operated under a constitution that balanced Islamic identity with human rights protections rooted in international treaties: no law could contradict Islamic principles, but the legal system was still expected to align with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That framework collapsed after the Taliban takeover. The current government rules primarily through verbal and written decrees interpreting sharia law rather than through codified law, and discrimination based on gender, religious belief and social status has become part of the system itself.

The Taliban’s de facto authorities, referred to internationally as the DFA, have issued more than 100 decrees affecting the rights of women and girls since 2021. UN Women describes the scale of this transformation as without precedent, noting that no other country in modern history has dismantled the rights of half its population so systematically.

The Toll on Women and Girls

The numbers illustrate just how far-reaching the changes of the Taliban have been for the Afghan people. Under current decrees, husbands hold legal authority over their wives, and their disciplinary actions are only criminalized if they cause severe injury. Child marriage remains widespread: in 2023, 28.7% of Afghan women aged 20-24 had been married or in a union before age 18, including 9.6% who had been married or in a union before age 15.

Access to justice has narrowed sharply along gender lines, with only one woman able to reach legal recourse for every four men. Health care has suffered as well. Afghanistan’s maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 638 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024, among the highest rates in the world. The psychological toll is just as stark: seven in 10 Afghan women now describe their mental health as bad or very bad.

Education and employment have been hit hardest of all. An estimated 78% of young Afghan women are not in education, employment or training, a level of exclusion that threatens to erase two decades of progress in a single generation.

These figures have fueled criticism of governments and institutions that condemned Taliban policy without meaningfully changing conditions on the ground, a critique that casts doubt on the effectiveness of purely diplomatic responses.

Support for the Afghan People Continues, Quietly

Despite the bleak headlines, international support for the Afghan people has not disappeared. It has largely moved out of the spotlight. The Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund, managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and supported by international donors, continues to fund humanitarian projects addressing basic needs, health care and nutrition. In 2025, for example, an AHF grant of $1.39 million supported six sub-health centers and 13 inpatient therapeutic feeding centers in four of the country’s most vulnerable provinces.

Civil society has stepped in where governments have pulled back, especially in education. Afghan girls barred from classrooms are increasingly turning to virtual and underground schooling run by small, often volunteer-driven organizations:

  • AESOP (Afghan Education Student Outreach Project) began in June 2022 with a single class of 19 girls. It has since grown into a program of nearly 600 students taught by close to 100 volunteer instructors, selected from more than 4,500 applicants, offering English, math, STEM and leadership courses. Several graduates have gone on to win scholarships at universities abroad.
  • Afghanistan Education Action, founded by educator Angela Ghayour, grew from the Herat Online School, which she started in 2021. AEA is now a UK-registered charity running three online schools, including one that helps students work toward internationally recognized qualifications. Some of its students have also received scholarships to study at schools and universities abroad.
  • LEARN Afghanistan, founded by activist Pashtana Durrani in 2018, built the country’s first digital school network. Before 2021, it already reached more than 10,000 students through 18 digital schools and trained hundreds of teachers; after the Taliban takeover, it resumed operations covertly within a month rather than shutting down.

Economic empowerment programs are showing effective results. In 2025 alone, UN Women directly supported more than 5,000 Afghan women entrepreneurs, including 940 women-led enterprises and 4,130 women who established income-generating livelihoods, in part through community-based and formal microloan mechanisms.

A Fragile Lifeline

These efforts remain small relative to what could be achieved with sustained government-level backing, and that backing is now at risk. More than half of the women-led organizations providing life-saving services in Afghanistan expect to suspend operations or close entirely within the next year because of aid cuts. That makes continued attention to the Afghan people’s situation more urgent, not less. The organizations working discreetly inside and outside the country have shown that meaningful change is still possible even under one of the most repressive governments. What they lack is not proof of the impact of the Taliban on the Afghan people, but the sustained support needed to scale it.

– Juan Guillermo Rueda Castrillón

Juan is based in Barcelona, Spain and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

, ,

The Invisible Aid in Colombia’s Pacific Coast

Aid in Colombia’s Pacific CoastOn Aug. 10, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia, killing hundreds and worsening conditions across some of the country’s poorest regions. Humanitarian aid missions have reached Colombia’s Pacific Coast in the weeks since, but their work has largely gone unnoticed by the public. Telecommunications and information networks were fragile before the earthquake and remain so now across most of Valle del Cauca, Chocó, Caldas and Quindío. Citizen movements have pushed for more visibility and faster aid, but how the government and humanitarian groups are actually working to improve conditions on the ground has remained largely unreported.

This reinforces a familiar narrative: that Chocó and Colombia’s other Pacific cities are like “ghost regions.” It is a rough label for a place rich in culture and diversity, home to significant Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities, but long isolated by geography and government neglect. That neglect is highlighted in the statistics. Chocó is Colombia’s poorest department: 66.7% of its residents live below the monetary poverty line, the highest rate in the country, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). Multidimensional poverty, which measures deprivation in education, health care and housing rather than income alone, shows a similar situation: 36.8% of Chocó’s population lives in multidimensional poverty, according to DANE. The earthquake exposed this long-existing gap between Colombia’s Pacific Coast and the rest of the country.

After the Disaster

Since the disaster, the death toll has risen to 331, while 240 people remain missing and around 400,000 people have been affected across 16 of the 32 departments in Colombia. The earthquake has created a nationwide humanitarian and infrastructure crisis, shutting down health, education, information and cultural centers, damaging housing and limiting transportation and communication across the country.

Creating Solutions

According to Gloria Miranda of the Institute for Studies on Conflicts and Humanitarian Action, nonprofit and humanitarian organizations have advanced the response to the disaster in western Colombia. However, private donations and social initiatives are not enough on their own. Miranda argues that the priorities of affected communities need to be written into the government’s political agenda, so aid can be coordinated more efficiently and tracked.

On Aug. 21, German outlet DW criticized the response of President Abelardo de la Espriella’s government. It noted that the presidency’s public messaging diverged from other state institutions on the earthquake’s toll, pointed to a limited government presence in the press, and highlighted Colombia’s hesitation over international aid.

Such hesitation was present in the earthquake’s first days, when the United Nations said it had not received a formal request for assistance from Colombian authorities, even as several governments, including Mexico, Brazil and Chile, offered search and rescue teams. Government officials said they were relying on the country’s own capacity and strict technical certification standards for foreign rescuers, but the delay attracted criticism from disaster-response experts questioning whether caution or politics were driving the decision.

Long-Standing Issues

Buenaventura, a port city of more than 430,000 people, had already struggled for decades with limited electricity, unstable internet and scarce to absent drinking water before the earthquake made those problems worse.

Records from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which has worked in Colombia since 2005 helping refugees, indicate that even before the disaster, more than 9 million Colombians already required humanitarian aid, including those affected by forced displacement, armed conflict, floods and droughts. This reminds people of the tasks of repairing damage from the earthquake and also of reaching communities that were already facing long-standing vulnerabilities.

This organization is currently providing shelter and survival supplies, such as water, hygiene products and mattresses, for those affected in Chocó, along with monetary assistance for shelters and other families in Valle del Cauca. It is also raising funds that will become a substantial form of aid in Colombia’s Pacific Coast.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), present in Chocó for more than two decades, is coordinating with national authorities and United Nations partners to support children and families. Its focus is water, sanitation and hygiene. The goal is to ease public health problems that the earthquake made worse, along with the economic hardship and basic needs many families in these communities already faced.

Building Back

Reconstruction is now underway, and progress is coming from partnerships between companies, foundations and local communities. Grupo Argos and its foundation, working with singer Nicky Jam, are building 1,000 quick-assembly, earthquake-resistant houses nationwide, from which roughly half will go to Chocó, with the first units delivered by the end of September. In Buenaventura, manufacturers Eternit and Corporacero have donated more than 100 houses combined for displaced families, while the construction association Camacol and the Corporación Minuto de Dios are financing 27 homes for families in Chocó.

Some of the new buildings in Buenaventura are being built as stilt houses, adapted to the flood-prone geography that has shaped life along the Pacific coast. These efforts are still small next to the scale of the damage. However, they show what recovery could look like if it reaches the communities the earthquake, and decades of public policy before it, left behind. Making this urgent aid visible is not a matter of publicity, but about keeping Colombia’s Pacific Coast in the national conversation for the future development of the country.

– Juan Guillermo Rueda Castrillón

Juan is based in Barcelona, Spain and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

,

Jordan’s Aid to Gaza: More Than 119,000 Metric Tonnes

Jordan's Aid to GazaJordan has provided significant aid to Gaza, from food to medical supplies since Oct. 7, 2023. Jordan’s aid to Gaza is primarily given via the nonprofit Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO), which has worked with the Jordanian Armed Forces and the Foreign Ministry to deliver supplies. The Jordan Times reports that Jordan has provided more than 119,000 metric tonnes of aid to Gaza. Hussein al-Shibli, the secretary-general of JHCO, stated that Jordan has provided over $428 million worth of aid to Gaza as of May 2025.

Current Situation in Gaza

In Gaza, more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and over 173,000 have been hurt since Oct. 7. Throughout Gaza, 1.7 million civilians are staying in 1,600 displacement sites, battling overcrowded conditions and restricted access to crucial services. About 1.6 million people face extreme food insecurity, and a famine was proclaimed in August 2025. Over 100,000 children below five have been predicted to face acute malnutrition, with the World Health Organization reporting that malnutrition is at alarming levels.

A ceasefire occurred on Oct. 10, 2025; however, the humanitarian crisis continued and the ceasefire was repeatedly violated. To rebuild and recover, $71.4 billion is now required throughout the next 10 years.

Restrictions on Aid

Palestinians struggle to gain access to aid due to restrictions. These restrictions have resulted in food, fuel, medicine, and humanitarian staff shortages in Gaza, and humanitarians cannot operate effectively and safely in this situation.

According to Human Rights Watch, Israeli authorities planned to bar 37 international nongovernmental organizations from working in Gaza and the West Bank on March 1, 2026, because they refused to give the government lists of their staff and biodata for new registration demands. The organizations argued that these demands breach the humanitarian values of neutrality and independence. On Feb. 27, however, the Israeli High Court temporarily froze the cease-operations order while the legal challenge continued.

Moreover, the UN stated that since the Gaza ceasefire, Israel rejected more than 100 aid requests. The authorities rejected 107 requests that would have allowed relief resources to enter, including winter clothes, blankets, and materials to sustain and operate water, sanitation, and hygiene services. Almost 90% of the rejected applications were from over 30 local and international NGOs, and over half were rejected because the NGOs were not authorized to bring relief materials into Gaza.

Aid Provided by Other Organizations

Many organizations are working to provide aid to Gaza. Since October 2023, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has worked with local partners to help over 430,000 people with health, education, safety and economic well-being. UNICEF, the UN agency supporting children, provided more than 200,000 packs of nutrient-rich baby food to aid partners to help more than 63,000 infants and young children for two weeks.

Jordan’s Aid to Gaza

While other nations and organizations have provided aid, Jordan has contributed significantly. Jordan’s aid to Gaza includes 883,000 food rations, over 23,500 packs of bread, and around 61,000 cubic meters of water. Jordan has also assisted via airdrops – Jordan has participated in 164 airdrops and almost 400 additional airdrops in collaboration with international partners.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan also announced in October 2023 that it was donating $4.3 million to help the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The contribution was intended to support humanitarian needs in Gaza, including food and other basic supplies.

Jordan has also helped diplomatically, with King Abdullah II speaking to Donald Trump in the period leading up to the ceasefire announcement.

In 2024, an 83% decline in Gaza’s economy pushed 2.3 million people into poverty, underscoring the scale of humanitarian need in Gaza.

Looking Forward

Jordan has supported those suffering from the humanitarian crisis in Gaza through airdrops, providing resources, and donations. Jordan’s aid to Gaza not only highlights the country’s goodwill but also emphasizes the importance of helping those whose lives have been affected by war.

– Sahana Sundar

Sahana is based in Singapore and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

,

Poverty in Afghanistan: Aid and Economic Challenges

Poverty in AfghanistanAfghanistan’s economy remains under severe pressure, and households are paying the price as humanitarian aid declines and economic challenges continue. In 2025, around 28 million people — three in four Afghans — were unable to meet their basic subsistence needs, according to the United Nations Development Programme.

Economic Pressures

Dr. Niamatullah Ibrahimi, a research fellow at the University of Melbourne, spoke with The Borgen Project about the economic pressures facing Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s trade deficit widened to about $11.3 billion in 2025 as imports rose and exports remained stagnant. The UNDP also reports that population growth outpaced economic growth, contributing to falling income per person. Restrictions on women’s rights and employment continue to reduce women’s participation in the economy and weaken the country’s economic potential.

Ibrahimi explained, “The economy naturally contracted. Also there are other kinds of factors which slow investment and combine to drive greater unemployment in Afghanistan.”

Humanitarian Aid and Migration Issues

Afghanistan is already struggling to create enough jobs, and large-scale returns from neighboring countries are adding further pressure. Since September 2023, nearly 5.9 million Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan. In 2025 alone, 2.9 million people returned, placing additional strain on jobs, housing, water systems and public services.

Ibrahimi also highlighted this pressure, noting that migration “has increased the number of people, more burdened the government for employment.”

Inflation has added to the strain. By March 2026, inflation had climbed to 7.6%, driven in part by food prices, supply constraints and strong demand.

At the same time, humanitarian assistance has fallen sharply. Humanitarian aid declined by almost 70%, from $3.27 billion in 2022 to $1 billion in 2025. More than halfway through 2026, only $438 million had been secured. Funding shortages have forced hundreds of health facilities to close or reduce services.

Save the Children reported that it had kept 14 clinics open and was the only health care provider serving around 10,000 people in mountainous areas of northern Afghanistan. The funding crisis has also coincided with worsening acute malnutrition among children.

Ibrahimi said of declining aid, “Up until 2022 the UN did a good job, but since then aid has significantly declined. This is affecting everything, like, health, education, food resources maybe. In the distribution, you know, everything from nutrition, clinics that are quite important.”

For many families, prolonged economic insecurity has led to rising debt and difficult coping strategies. The UNDP reports that more than 80% of households are in debt and nearly three-quarters rely on negative coping strategies to get through the day.

Climate conditions make these challenges worse. Drought affected 64% of the country in 2025, while access to adequate drinking water fell to 44%, down from 59% in 2024.

India as a Neighboring Source of Support

Despite difficult relations with the Taliban in the past, India has continued to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. India has also discussed development projects, water resource management and private-sector investment with Afghan authorities.

On Aug. 20, 2026, India delivered medicines and medical consumables to a government hospital in Kabul, continuing its health and humanitarian support for the Afghan people.

On the engagement of countries such as India, China and Russia, Ibrahimi raised an important question: whether diplomatic relations and aid are for the “survival of the people, or is it for the survival of the regime?”

International assistance is providing some relief, but Afghanistan continues to face widespread poverty, weak job creation, reduced aid and climate pressures. The UNDP has emphasized that humanitarian support must be accompanied by investment in livelihoods, services and local markets if households are to have a stronger chance of rebuilding their economic security.

– Tanay Ashok Sonthalia

Tanay is based in Melbourne, Australia and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay

, ,

The Influence of German Aid to Ukraine

German Aid to UkraineSince Feb. 24, 2022, Ukraine has been at war with Russia. Constant bombing has destroyed housing and infrastructure, rapidly changing the economic makeup of the nation and exposing vast amounts of the population to the consequences of extreme poverty. This past winter, Ukraine’s weather reached dangerously low temperatures from which the destroyed heating infrastructure could offer no escape. However, the introduction of emergency heating points, funded by German aid to Ukraine, helped relieve death tolls from extreme temperatures.

In 2024, Annalena Baerbock, then Germany’s federal minister for foreign affairs, pledged €100 million to Ukraine in response to increased Russian attacks on heating infrastructure. Germany, one of the world’s largest donors of humanitarian aid, used this fund to provide heating points with food, water and the opportunity to get warm to more than 86,000 people living in Ukraine’s Kyiv region. Germany’s efforts to keep Ukrainian people warm this past winter demonstrate the life-saving impact that humanitarian aid can have, especially in times of crisis.

War-Induced Poverty

Since 2021, the poverty rate in Ukraine has risen from 20.6% to 35.5% in 2023. Due to the ongoing war, exact poverty data is hard to collect, but recent estimates suggest that 34.5% of Ukraine exists in poverty, while 51.6% suffer severe material and social deprivation. These statistics worsen depending on the region, with areas most affected by the war showing rates of 62% and primarily unaffected regions showing 23.4%. Thus, in addition to facing increasing poverty rates, Ukrainian people are facing the worst income inequality gap in years. Ukrainians impacted by the war suffer destroyed infrastructure, homes, loss of family and friends and dwindling resources. This humanitarian crisis, which has displaced millions and inflicted nationwide poverty, has stagnated the economy of Ukraine, making prospects of recovery slower and endangering the lives of millions of Ukrainians.

German Aid to Ukraine

In the face of devastating conflict, international aid has greatly benefited Ukraine, especially as the nation enters its fifth year of war. In December 2025, the European Union agreed to loan Ukraine €90 billion to help maintain the economy, defend against Russia and provide humanitarian aid for those forced into impoverished and deadly conditions. Additionally, Germany’s federal government has provided €43.3 billion in civilian aid and €57.6 billion for military aid to the Ukrainian government, alongside other donations throughout the last five years.

The German federal government outlines what this government-provided aid accomplishes on its website. German aid to Ukraine has gone toward constructing and replacing electrical and heating systems, power plants and nuclear power plants to both maintain safe infrastructure and help stimulate the economy and renewable energy sector during the war. Additionally, German aid to Ukraine goes toward providing medical care, food, clean water and refugee assistance. Approximately a million Ukrainian refugees have sought refuge in Germany, where the German government provides them with access to vocational language courses, training and integration programs, job assistance centers and immediate access to the labor market. These programs have assisted more than 1.3 million Ukrainian refugees, helped train 27,000 Ukrainian soldiers and helped more than 86,000 people survive an extremely cold winter without infrastructure.

Final Thoughts

Germany’s efforts as one of the world’s largest donors of humanitarian aid help protect the most vulnerable populations. Ukrainian people suffer significantly increased levels of poverty due to the ongoing war, but German aid helps alleviate some of these consequences and prevents unnecessary deaths in vulnerable communities. From mobile heating centers to efforts to reconstruct electrical and heating infrastructure and the welcoming of refugees, Germany’s government-initiated aid to Ukraine has played a substantial role in protecting those in need.

– Aubrey Wallen

Aubrey is based in Alexandria, VA, USA and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels

,

Locally Led Humanitarian Aid in Nigeria

Humanitarian Aid in NigeriaAs international funding drops, locally led humanitarian aid in Nigeria is stepping up to address poverty and displacement in crisis-affected regions. In collaboration with the United Nations (U.N.), a sweeping transition has begun, aiming to shift control of the nation’s humanitarian operations to national actors. With local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) receiving 70% of funding allocations in 2025, the transition suggests that locally led organizations are becoming central players in crisis relief efforts rather than peripheral ones.

The Humanitarian Reset

On July 14, 2026, Nigerian Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, opened a humanitarian transition workshop led by the government in collaboration with the U.N. and other development partners. In his remarks, he described a “profound reset” underway across the global humanitarian sector, with Nigeria among the countries leading the transition.

The global Humanitarian Reset is not just a rhetorical or political slogan. Launched in 2025 in response to shrinking funding and growing humanitarian needs, the initiative aims to reshape how organizations coordinate and deliver aid. It seeks to strengthen national leadership rather than rely on a system in which international actors coordinate much of the relief response in developing countries, redefining the role of international counterparts as financial and technical partners.

This change of strategy has acquired urgency following the shift in United States (U.S.) foreign aid policy under the Trump administration. The European Parliament reported that the U.S. disengagement from international humanitarian assistance, including the termination of up to 83% of programs administered by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), disrupted operations for international NGOs and U.N. agencies.

Funding Cuts

For Nigeria, this shift comes at a pivotal time. Conflict for 16 years in the northeastern regions of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, combined with the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters, has left millions of people dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Vulnerable countries have relied heavily on the U.S. for humanitarian aid, particularly for food security and disaster relief, so the funding shift has posed a significant challenge for humanitarian work worldwide. The U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, told Reuters that funding dropped by nearly half in 2025 compared with the previous year, slowing response efforts and life-saving assistance. Of the $516 million needed in 2026, only $255.5 million has been secured. Global aid cuts leave vulnerable families with fewer resources to cope with shocks such as conflict, disease or natural disaster, increasing the risk of long-term poverty.

Humanitarian Crisis

The scale of the humanitarian crisis compounds the funding gap. In the northeastern states affected by the conflict that erupted after the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009, an estimated 5.9 million people will require humanitarian assistance in 2026. According to the U.N., more than 90% of the population in northern rural areas already lives below the poverty line.

Ongoing conflict and insecurity have displaced more than 3.5 million people in Northern Nigeria, disrupting local agricultural activity and worsening food insecurity and malnutrition. Devastating floods have compounded the crisis, further pushing vulnerable families into severe poverty and stripping them of their livelihoods and land. World Bank data shows that 87% of internally displaced people in northeast Nigeria live in poverty, illustrating the link between displacement and poverty.

In 2026 alone, an estimated 35 million Nigerians are projected to suffer from acute food insecurity, while three million children risk suffering from acute malnutrition. As a direct consequence of a shrinking budget, only 600,000 of the 2.5 million people targeted for urgent aid between January and March 2026 actually received assistance — a mere 22.1%. Against this backdrop, locally led humanitarian aid in Nigeria is becoming increasingly important in helping affected communities recover.

Success of Localization

Given this funding gap and the ongoing crisis, the transition to localization has become a practical necessity, and the strategy is already showing results. According to the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund — established by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in 2017 — national NGOs received a record 70% of direct allocations in 2025. By bypassing heavily bureaucratized international intermediaries, localization allows for faster aid delivery.

Local civil society organizations often bring cultural literacy and a deep-rooted understanding of the communities they serve, helping them navigate local dynamics that international actors may not fully grasp. National NGOs like the Lake Chad Peace and Development Initiative, which works with war-torn rural communities in Yobe State to access basic services, helped more than 40,000 emergency-affected children in the northeastern states gain access to education through a network of 350 local volunteers, demonstrating the reach of local initiatives.

Transitioning from an internationally led humanitarian response to a nationally led one will require navigating a complex bureaucratic landscape and maintaining rigorous financial accountability, but the reset represents a historic opportunity. The growth of locally led humanitarian aid in Nigeria can help offset the broader decline in international humanitarian funding. This strategy is not just about doing more with less; it is about building a resilient, self-sufficient and locally led system that gives Nigerians the tools to recover from crisis and fight poverty.

– Mateo Montes Asturias

Mateo is based in Montpellier, France and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels

,

Access To Humanitarian Aid in Sudan

Humanitarian Aid in SudanInternational organizations providing humanitarian aid in Sudan are facing growing restrictions on where they can operate. As a result, local organizations are taking a larger role in delivering assistance, reshaping how aid is delivered.

In 2023, Sudan’s armed conflict created one of the largest humanitarian crises to date, leaving 33.7 million people, 60% of whom are children, in need of humanitarian aid by 2026. The crisis is especially severe in Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile, with attacks in crowded areas having unimaginable consequences for civilians. The conflict continues to worsen as Rapid Support Forces threaten a full-scale assault on El Obeid.

Challenges in Delivering Aid

Humanitarian aid in Sudan continues to face severe restrictions despite its importance. Organizations encounter challenges ranging from insufficient funding to bureaucratic constraints, making it difficult for aid to reach those who need it most.

These restrictions also deter humanitarian workers and journalists, limiting access to information.

Local Organizations Step Up

Local organizations have filled the gap created by these restrictions. The country’s Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) are community-led networks that have emerged as a crucial part of the humanitarian response in Sudan. They have sustained millions of people throughout the conflict.

Built upon local traditions of mutual aid, their efforts in collective action and shared responsibility continue to grow as they provide healthcare, food assistance and education where others cannot reach. Their mission is to fill critical gaps left by the collapsing economy, government restrictions and state institutions in humanitarian aid in Sudan.

Alsanosi Adam, the external communications officer, said, “The spirit of resistance has evolved into local governance and inclusive participation. And when the war ends, we will evolve again, because this is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Ms. Samia’s Community Kitchen in Khartoum exemplifies the work humanitarian aid organizations do in Sudan. Driven by solidarity, longtime businesswoman Samia and her daughter Abeer run a community-led ERR kitchen that provides hot meals to families each morning. By the end of the day, an average of 300 to 400 households receive a hot meal.

International Organizations Persist

International organizations continue to provide humanitarian assistance in Sudan despite severe restrictions and access challenges. Organizations such as Save the Children and the World Food Programme rely on their teams and local staff on the ground to reach communities in need and deliver vital aid.

Helping almost 3.8 million people, Save the Children has provided humanitarian aid in Sudan through health services, drinkable water, sanitation and hygiene services. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme has been forced to prioritize and target the communities where hunger is at its worst; they have managed to reach around 80% of people in the 27 famine and risk-of-famine areas.

Despite the challenges, aid workers and organizations continue to find new ways to reach those who need help most.

– Clara Iglesias Romero

Clara is based in Galicia, Spain and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

, ,

The End of the UN Türkiye-Syria Aid Route

UN Türkiye-Syria aid routeThe United Nations (U.N.) announced on May 4, 2026, that it would end its cross-border aid route from Türkiye into Syria after 11 years. The U.N. Türkiye-Syria route delivered over 65,000 trucks of aid from July 2014, making it “one of the largest and most complex humanitarian supply chains,” according to U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

This marks what the U.N. has described as a sign of recovery for Syria following 14 years of conflict that damaged one-third of the country’s pre-conflict gross capital stock. The aid corridor supported a Syrian population where one in four are in extreme poverty, and two-thirds are below the lower middle-income poverty line. Its closure raises questions about what impact it will have, and what it signals about poverty in Syria overall.

Why Was the UN Türkiye-Syria Aid Route Needed?

Under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2165, the U.N. created the Türkiye-Syria corridor as an emergency bypass after civil war damaged infrastructure and shifted front lines. The Syrian conflict had devastating civilian consequences, costing almost half a million lives and displacing around half of the pre-war population. Despite the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 triggering millions of displaced Syrians to return, the Türkiye-Syria earthquake in 2023, which killed almost 11,000 Syrians, had already deepened the country’s humanitarian crisis. The disaster reaffirmed the need for the aid route, particularly because it predominantly affected the northwestern region of the country, where the corridor operated. The route existed largely because of the destruction of people’s livelihoods, which thrust most of the population into poverty with little to no sustainable income in a volatile environment. The poverty rate increased almost threefold, from 33% to 90%.

Why Did the Aid Route Close?

With the end of the Assad regime, the international community eased sanctions, facilitating a reopening of border crossings to commercial traffic and regular supply routes. Türkiye has proposed to strengthen and modernize the border crossing with Syria to stabilize trade. The U.N. said the need for an emergency bypass is no longer necessary, since humanitarian aid should now be able to reach those in need through regular, stable trade routes — something U.N. officials have called a positive sign for Syria’s recovery. However, the U.N. has also made clear that poverty in Syria remains a significant issue, with humanitarian need remaining very high due to extensive infrastructural damage. Up to 13 million people still require food and clean water assistance.

The State of Syria Without the Aid Route

The closure of the aid route reflects a shift the U.N. and other observers have described as promising for the establishment of normal trade routes and, by extension, the country’s broader recovery. As trade becomes more stable, the country could begin to economically recover, invest in rebuilding infrastructure and create job opportunities, potentially helping to alleviate high poverty rates. Inflation fell to 11.5% in 2025 from 72% in 2024, and the Syrian government posted its first budget surplus since 1990 at the end of last year. While poverty rates remain high, these macroeconomic indicators suggest a trend that could ease pressure on low-income families and, over time, help generate jobs. Humanitarian aid is still reaching Syria, now through normal trade routes, allowing civilians to continue receiving assistance in the aftermath of conflict.

Overall, the closure of the U.N. Türkiye-Syria aid route marks a step toward the more stable establishment of the country’s trade routes and commercial border crossings. However, poverty remains widespread and continues to affect most civilians, a consequence of the displacement and infrastructure damage caused by 14 years of conflict. Humanitarian need in Syria remains urgent, but by ending its emergency measures, the international community is aiming to establish more long-term and stable arrangements while continuing to assist those in need.

– Amy Carpenter

Amy is based in Poole, UK and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels

, ,

5 Charities Operating in Mali

Charities Operating in MaliMali still faces significant development challenges. According to the World Bank, in 2021, 36.10% of people were living on less than $3 a day. Poverty affects rural communities the most, where families depend on agriculture and remain vulnerable to droughts, rising food prices and insecurity caused by conflicts that have disrupted access to basic services. For many, daily life involves limited access to health care, education, clean water and reliable sources of income. Food insecurity remains a major concern in the country. Despite these challenges, several organizations are working alongside local communities to create sustainable solutions. Here are five charities operating in Mali that are helping improve living conditions and expand opportunities for those in need.

1. Save the Children 

The first of the five charities operating in Mali is Save the Children. Save the Children has operated in Mali since 1987 and has become one of the country’s leading humanitarian organizations. It focuses on education, nutrition, child protection and health care services. The organization combines emergency responses efforts with long-term development programs. It supports schools, trains teachers and helps children access life-saving nutrition services. In 2025, Save the Children helped more than 613,000 children in Mali.

By investing in children during emergencies and periods of stability, the organization helps families build stronger futures while reducing the long-term effects of poverty.

2. World Vision Mali 

World Vision Mali combats poverty through a wide range of community-based programs. It focuses on education, clean water, food security and child protection. 

One of its most impactful initiatives involves expanding access to safe drinking water. According to its 2025 report, its program helped more than 136,000 people gain access to improved water sources in the country. The charity also supported more than 71,000 students through education programs and provided humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of people. These investments improve health outcomes, reduce the burden of collecting water and create more opportunities for children to remain in school.

3. WaterAid Mali 

Access to clean water and good hygiene remains a major challenge for many communities in Mali, where 3.3 million people don’t have clean water close to home. WaterAid Mali is building sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene systems. Rather than focusing only on infrastructure, the organization collaborates with local governments and community leaders to ensure that services remain operational for years after the installation. It also promotes hygiene education and sanitation improvements that help reduce waterborne diseases. 

WaterAid Mali aims to provide water, hygiene and sanitation services to three million people by 2028. Improved access to these services can help families spend more time on economic activities and allows children to attend school more consistently.

4. SOS Children’s Villages Mali 

Children who lose parental care often face higher risks of poverty, exploitation and interrupted education. SOS Children’s Villages Mali has created family-based care programs and community support initiatives. The charity operates children’s villages and family-strengthening programs in several parts of the country. In addition to providing safe homes for children, it supports vulnerable families with social services and educational assistance. This approach helps prevent family separation and allows children to grow up in stable environments. 

By prioritizing long-term family support, the organization helps children develop the skills and opportunities needed to break cycles of poverty.

5. CARE Mali 

CARE Mali focuses on economic development and community empowerment programs. The organization works closely with women, farmers and local leaders to improve livelihoods and strengthen resilience. It supports agricultural training, savings groups and income-generating activities that help families increase earnings. The charity also works to improve food security in areas affected by climate shocks and instability. Many of its programs prioritize women’s economic participation, recognizing the important role they play in household and community development.

Through these initiatives, CARE Mali helps families build financial stability while creating stronger local economies.

Looking Ahead

These five charities operating in Mali demonstrate how targeted solutions can help communities overcome poverty. Whether through education, clean water, child protection or economic empowerment, each organization addresses critical challenges while creating opportunities for long-term progress.

– Violette Bardouil

Violette is based in Paris, France and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons