Palestine: forced displacement and famine risk
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has deteriorated sharply. This is due to the escalation of hostilities following the terrorist attacks on Israel, which have escalated the already dire humanitarian situation there to a catastrophic level.
More than 2 million people have so far been internally displaced due to intense airstrikes, enduring conditions of high insecurity and severe shortages of essential resources such as water, food, medicine, electricity and fuel.
Dramatically high civilian death tolls, limited humanitarian supplies and limited humanitarian access make this a crisis that requires urgent and continued assistance.
3.1 million people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are currently in need of humanitarian assistance
Ukraine: lives in danger and infrastructure destroyed
Heavy fighting since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 continues to endanger the lives of Ukrainian civilians and severely damage the country’s infrastructure: from housing to heating, water and electricity supplies.
Internal displacement also poses significant challenges, with citizens being moved from the front lines to new, unfamiliar environments. Most of these people have already seen their homes destroyed by shelling and may have experienced various wartime traumas, including armed violence, family separation, looting or eviction.
The civilian population of Ukraine continues to endure a humanitarian catastrophe that reaches new levels of suffering with each passing day. 40% of the population needs humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations.
Syria: Destruction and disease
The February 2023 earthquake wreaked havoc in Syria and increased the humanitarian needs of a country already plagued by displacement, epidemics and pandemics.
The number of people in need has risen significantly over the past 12 months, reaching 15.3 million so far. The situation is particularly bad in northwestern Syria, where the earthquake has deepened food insecurity, disease and unstable water sources.
As the leading global donor of humanitarian aid, the European Union has mobilized more than €30 billion in humanitarian, development, economic and stabilization aid to support Syrians within the country and across the region over the past 12 years.
Through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, 16 European countries provided assistance to humanitarian partners on the ground through Lebanon and Turkey and provided civilians with the essential supplies they needed.
The Syrian crisis continues with around 5.2 million registered Syrian refugees across the region. The number of people needing help has increased by 40% in the last 3 years.
Haiti: Expanding gang violence in an increasingly fragile country
In 2024, humanitarian needs continue to rise in Haiti amid unprecedented levels of gang violence. According to UN statistics, at least 3,960 people have been killed, 1,432 injured and 2,951 kidnapped in gang-related violence this year alone. 3,056 rape cases were reported from January to October 2023, a 49% increase over 2022. More than 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.
An announced Kenyan-led mission has yet to be deployed to restore security in the country, while criminal gangs are expanding into urban and rural areas. Today more than 5 million Haitians are in need of humanitarian assistance, and more than 4.3 million suffer from acute food insecurity. The number of severely malnourished children in 2023 increased by 30% compared to 2022, with more than 115,600 cases in 2023.
This fragile context has forced millions of Haitian migrants to flee their country, making the perilous journey through the jungles of the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia to reach the United States. Some were later subjected to forced repatriation.
About 4.3 million Haitians currently suffer from acute food insecurity.
Africa: diseases, disasters and displacement crises
The African continent tops the world media’s watchlist as the source of some of the worst crises in recent years.
In Sudan, the outbreak of conflict in April 2023 has led to the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 6 million people internally displaced so far due to clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Force (RSF). ) As of 2024, half of Sudan’s population – about 25 million people – will require humanitarian assistance. This is an example of the unprecedented humanitarian needs in the region and affecting neighboring countries including Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt.
In regions such as the Greater Horn of Africa, more than 49 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity and more than 19 million have been displaced by conflict, drought and flooding.
Diseases, including cholera outbreaks in four countries, measles and malaria outbreaks in seven countries, and dengue fever in Ethiopia, also threaten people across the region. South Sudan has more than 6.1 million people with limited access to essential health care services.
Myanmar: Escalating conflict increases humanitarian needs
Since the military takeover in 2021, the humanitarian situation in Myanmar has deteriorated tragically. Last fall saw an escalation of the conflict, forcing more than 600,000 people to flee their homes in less than 3 months, bringing the total to 2.6 million across the country. About a third of the country’s population, 18.6 million people, are currently in need of humanitarian assistance and about 25% of the population is hungry.
About 600,000 stateless Rohingya remain in Myanmar, where they lack basic rights. Meanwhile, 1 million Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution are living in neighboring Bangladesh. The situation for these communities remains dire with serious security concerns and no clear prospect of returning to their homes in Myanmar.
In 2023, the EU has allocated around 32.8 million euros to meet the immediate needs of Myanmar’s most vulnerable civilians. In addition, last year the EU provided more than €38.5 million in humanitarian aid, disaster preparedness and emergency funding inside Bangladesh. Of this amount, more than €28 million has been contributed to support Rohingya refugees.
As conditions in refugee camps worsen, more and more Rohingya refugees embark on dangerous sea journeys to reach neighboring countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. The European Union has so far allocated €3 million to respond to the growing protection needs of refugees across the region.
Myanmar has the fifth largest number of people in need of humanitarian assistance globally.
Extreme weather events: wildfires and floods
Extreme weather events such as wildfires and floods are becoming more frequent and extreme around the world due to the growing climate crisis.
Extreme wildfire seasons only highlight the increasing complexity of natural hazards and the simultaneity of extreme weather events around the world.
Earthquakes
The world has seen multiple earthquakes
Turkey and Syria were hit by a series of catastrophic earthquakes on 6 February 2023, causing thousands of deaths, widespread destruction and worsening conditions for many of the already vulnerable refugees in southeastern Turkey. It was the region’s strongest earthquake in more than 100 years and the largest of 2023.
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco last September, leaving many civilians injured or homeless.
Then in October, a series of earthquakes in Afghanistan killed or injured thousands. Finally, in November 2023, a devastating earthquake struck Nepal.
