Humanitarian & Conflict

The Russia-Ukraine war remains a severe and active armed conflict, with recent reporting showing continued high civilian harm, especially from long-range missile and drone strikes. ACLED reported that during 21–27 February 2026, Russian strikes killed at least 43 civilians across multiple Ukrainian regions, while Russian forces also continued sabotage attacks using improvised explosive devices inside Ukraine. ISW reported that on 24–25 February 2026, Russia launched 115 drones against Ukraine, underscoring the ongoing intensity of aerial attacks. Civilian protection and infrastructure remain major concerns. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) continues to verify civilian casualties from the war, and its latest verified totals remain far below the true scale because many incidents cannot be confirmed immediately or occur in occupied areas. The war has also produced a large displacement crisis, with millions of Ukrainians still displaced inside the country and abroad, while energy and transport infrastructure remain frequent targets, disrupting daily life in affected regions including Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, and other areas.

Massive floods triggered by relentless monsoon rains from late June to September 2025 devastated Pakistan, with the death toll surpassing 1,000 (1,002 confirmed, including 274 children and 163 women), over 1,000 injured, and millions displaced. The crisis hit hardest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (504 deaths), Punjab (300 deaths, over 2.4 million affected), Sindh (80 deaths), Balochistan (30 deaths), Gilgit-Baltistan (41 deaths), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (39 deaths), and Islamabad (9 deaths). Infrastructure damage included over 12,000 houses affected (4,128 completely destroyed), nearly 6,509 livestock killed, and widespread destruction of roads, bridges, schools, and crops.

Haiti’s gang violence crisis remains severe and has deepened into a major humanitarian emergency in 2026. Armed groups continue to control large parts of Port-au-Prince and have expanded violence into other departments, including Artibonite and Centre, using killings, kidnappings, extortion, sexual violence, and attacks on infrastructure to consolidate power and restrict civilian movement. The International Rescue Committee says 6.4 million people are in need of humanitarian support, more than half the country’s population, and the UN-linked Security Council reporting in April 2026 said over 1.45 million people were internally displaced by February 2026. The same reporting notes that recent security operations have intensified violence, with 5,519 people killed and 2,608 injured between 1 March 2025 and 15 January 2026, according to the UN human rights system. The humanitarian consequences remain acute: over half of Haiti’s population faces crisis or worse food insecurity, schools remain widely disrupted, and access to health care, water, and safe transport is severely constrained. HRW reports that criminal groups control around 90% of Port-au-Prince and the metropolitan area, with expansion into previously more secure regions. In April 2026, the UN Security Council was still debating the response as the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force began operations, but civilian risk remains high amid ongoing clashes and weak state capacity. Aid delivery is also constrained by insecurity and underfunding, with the IRC reporting that by the end of 2025 only 24% of needed funding had been secured and that 1.7 million people could be left without critical humanitarian services.

The Gaza Strip faces an ongoing severe humanitarian crisis amid a fragile ceasefire since 10 October 2025, marked by persistent violence, aid restrictions, and infrastructure devastation. Airstrikes, shelling, and gunfire continue across the Strip, including near the 'Yellow Line,' with the Gaza Ministry of Health reporting 15 killed, 18 bodies retrieved, and 37 injured between 26 February and 5 March 2026; overall post-ceasefire casualties reached at least 574 killed and 1,518 injured by early February, rising further by late February. Over 85% of Gaza's 2.1 million population, or about 1.9 million people, remain internally displaced, with significant concentrations near frontlines, Rafah, and between designated lines; nearly 815,000 movements recorded since ceasefire, including returns north. Aid entry has increased, with over 283,133 pallets offloaded by 5 February 2026 and continued entries like 10,213 pallets between 6-8 January, but crossing closures since late February have suspended medical evacuations, caused fuel and cooking gas shortages, and heightened reliance on assistance; over 18,500 patients, including 4,000 children, await evacuation for unavailable care. Famine conditions have been mitigated as of January 2026 with enough aid for basic food needs, reaching 1.2 million people, though health systems report shortages amid winter diseases; 42% of homes destroyed, rendering northern Gaza largely uninhabitable. Recent escalations include Middle East-wide impacts closing crossings and mounting restrictions, with protection services aiding over 21,500 people weekly; less than 1% of aid intercepted during transit.

Sudan’s health system remains in a severe state of collapse amid the ongoing conflict that began in April 2023. WHO reported in July 2025 that 38% of health facilities were non-functional and only 14% of hospitals remained operational, with Khartoum’s health infrastructure heavily damaged or repurposed for military use. The UN reported in January 2026 that more than one third of facilities nationwide were still non-functional, while WHO said the conflict had driven the system to the brink of collapse and left millions without access to essential care. The crisis is being compounded by repeated attacks on healthcare, mass displacement, hunger, and disease outbreaks. WHO said it had verified 201 attacks on healthcare since the conflict began, causing 1,858 deaths and 490 injuries; MSF separately reported more than 2,000 deaths and 720 injuries in 213 attacks on health facilities across Sudan, and said Sudan accounted for 82% of global deaths from attacks on healthcare in 2025. The humanitarian situation remains dire: the UN says 33.7 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2026, with more than 20 million needing health assistance and 21 million facing acute food insecurity. Recent reporting also points to ongoing outbreaks and overcrowding in conflict-affected and displaced communities, particularly in Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, Al-Jazira, Sennar, and eastern Sudan.

South Sudan faces escalating armed conflict and a deepening humanitarian crisis, with ceasefire violations, intercommunal violence, and clashes between government forces (SSPDF), opposition groups like SPLA-IO, and non-signatories such as NAS in states including Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, Western Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Western Bahr el Ghazal, and Central Equatoria. Since December 2025, attacks on civilians have surged, including aerial bombardments, deliberate killings, abductions, and sexual violence, with OHCHR documenting 189 civilian deaths in January 2026 alone—a 45% increase from the prior month—and over 5,100 killed or injured in 2025, up 40% from 2024. From late December 2025 to early January 2026, fighting displaced over 100,000 people in Jonglei, adding to 2.3 million IDPs and nearly 10 million needing aid. The crisis is exacerbated by over 598,000 refugees from Sudan (as of November 2025) and 800,000 South Sudanese returnees, fueling food insecurity affecting 70% of the population amid flooding, climate events, and aid cuts. Humanitarian access is severely restricted, with operations suspended in parts of Upper Nile and northern Jonglei; UN officials warn of a slide into full-scale war, collapsed military discipline, and mass atrocities, linked to Sudan's spillover and political polarization threatening Horn of Africa stability. Women and girls face heightened gender-based violence, with increased abductions and sexual assaults reported. UNMISS peacekeeping continues amid funding shortfalls, but impunity persists, and calls intensify for ceasefire, dialogue, and protection.

Yemen remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, and recent UN reporting indicates the situation is worsening in 2026 as food insecurity rises and aid funding declines. In January 2026, the UN said 21 million Yemenis were in need of assistance, while last year’s humanitarian response plan was only 28% funded at $688 million. Humanitarian agencies also warned that more than 18 million people face acute food insecurity, including tens of thousands in famine-like conditions, with women and girls disproportionately affected by reduced services and meal-skipping within households. The crisis is being driven by a decade of conflict, economic collapse, restricted humanitarian access, and continued abuses by warring parties. HRW reported that 19.5 million people needed humanitarian assistance in 2025, up by 1.3 million from 2024, and that US airstrikes between March 15 and May 6, 2025 killed at least 238 civilians and injured at least 467. UN and rights sources also report severe strain on health, nutrition, and protection systems, including more than 450 health facilities closed due to funding cuts, rising child malnutrition, and continuing displacement and detention abuses.

Myanmar remains in a severe, multi-front civil war following the 2021 military coup, with the junta facing sustained resistance from the People’s Defence Force (PDF), the National Unity Government (NUG), and multiple ethnic armed organizations. Recent reporting indicates the military government controls only about 21% of the country’s territory, while rebel forces and ethnic armies hold roughly 42%, with the rest contested. The conflict has caused more than 3 million internally displaced people and tens of thousands of deaths, while the military continues to rely heavily on airstrikes and shelling against civilian areas, including hospitals and schools. The humanitarian crisis continues to worsen in 2026. Refugees International reported in February 2026 that nearly 4 million people have been internally displaced, 1.5 million have fled to neighboring countries, and about one-third of Myanmar’s population needs humanitarian assistance. The armed conflict remains especially intense in Rakhine, Shan, Kachin, Sagaing, Magwe, Mandalay, Karen, and Chin regions, and in areas around the Bangladesh border where the Rohingya crisis remains unresolved. More than 1 million Rohingya refugees remain in Bangladesh, with little prospect for safe repatriation amid ongoing violence in Rakhine State. Recent developments include continued junta airstrikes in early 2026, the military’s push to stage restricted elections to legitimize its rule, and continuing territorial gains by anti-junta forces in parts of Rakhine and Shan States.

Burkina Faso remains one of the Sahel’s most severe humanitarian emergencies, driven by armed conflict, mass displacement, and restricted humanitarian access. Recent reporting from Refugees International and NRC indicates that more than 1.8 million people have been internally displaced, while nearly 2 million people have been forced from their homes due to violence and insecurity. The crisis has spread across the country, with humanitarian need and displacement affecting all administrative regions and leaving millions dependent on emergency assistance. The security situation continues to drive civilian harm and impede aid delivery. Armed groups affiliated with Islamic State and al-Qaeda, along with state security forces and other actors, have contributed to ongoing attacks on civilians, displacement, and rights violations. Humanitarian access remains severely constrained by insecurity and administrative barriers, and recent reporting also points to conflict spillover affecting neighboring Mali, where tens of thousands of Burkinabè refugees have fled. Recent sources also note that Burkina Faso’s government controls less than a third of its territory, underscoring the scale of the security challenge.

The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains a major humanitarian and security crisis, driven by the M23 rebel group and wider regional fighting. Reuters reported on February 11, 2026 that Angola announced a ceasefire to begin on February 18 within the Doha mediation framework, but both the Congolese government and M23 have continued to accuse each other of violations. Reuters also reported renewed fighting in late February around Minembwe in South Kivu, where Congolese forces backed by local militias and Burundian soldiers clashed with M23-linked fighters. The crisis is concentrated in eastern DRC, especially North Kivu and South Kivu, with spillover into surrounding areas such as Uvira, Minembwe, and reported attacks farther north, including the February 2 accusation of a drone strike on Kisangani airport. The UN and humanitarian sources continue to warn of displacement, civilian abuses, and instability tied to the conflict. CFR reported in early 2025 that fighting around Goma alone killed between 900 people by UN estimates and 2,000 by Congolese government estimates, underscoring the scale of recent violence, while ongoing conflict dynamics remain linked to alleged Rwandan support for M23.