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	We need to see countries step up to support people living through crisis by OCHA, NRC, agencies   June 2026   Millions of people are being completely abandoned by the world, warns the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).   “2026 is a make-or-break year for millions in desperate need around the world from Venezuela to Sudan. Families whose lives have been shattered by conflict are increasingly struggling to survive.   Violence and displacement continue unabated, while spiralling inflation puts basic goods out of reach all at a time when aid is declining due to a lack of funding. If the world doesn’t choose to change course, we will see a massive loss of lives,” said Jan Egeland, NRC’s secretary general.   Six months into the year only 30 per cent of the funding needed to support 143 million people out of the 252 million people in need of aid globally has been received.   “Global generosity for victims of conflict and disasters is abysmal. Without a dramatic increase of support, countless communities in need of aid will have little chance of being helped this year. We urgently need to see countries able to fund massive defence budgets and space missions step up to support people living through crisis,” said Egeland.   “Families I have spoken to in Sudan, Iran, Gaza and Ukraine this year all told me they felt forgotten by the world. But it is not too late to change this.”   The drop off in funding from countries in North America, Europe and other affluent nations is hurting those in dire need especially hard. Some of the world’s most chronically neglected crises are seeing desperately low levels of funding.   Millions face of people displacement, worsening protection conditions, and the loss of basic services. Alongside the dire levels of humanitarian funding, the sharp decline in development financing has weakened already fragile systems and left schools and health facilities struggling to function.   “Humanitarian funding is essential, but without longer-term investment the conditions that leave people increasingly vulnerable, such as lack of services and rising displacement, will only deepen. Investing now is key to reducing future crises. It is a necessity for millions of people,” said Egeland.   “We must ensure parents can give hope to their children that ends the cycle of neglect. 2026 must not go down in the record books as the year the world turned its back.”   * In 2026, a total of 252 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. A total of 33.66 billion US dollars has been requested to support 143.2 million of them. As of 24 June, 10.23 billion US dollars have been delivered – just 30 per cent of what is needed. The amount requested is the lowest since 2019.   Of the targeted 143.2 million, 88.7 million are urgently prioritised as needing life saving aid. 24 billion US dollars is required to reach this group of which just 9.83 have been delivered.   The United States and the United Kingdom have provided just a third of what they gave in 2024 in humanitarian funding.   * Forbes March 2026: 3,428 billionaires wealth now a record $20.1 trillion, up $4 trillion from last year. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reports global military spending of over $2700 billion in 2024.   17 June 2026   Remarks to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Humanitarian Affairs Segment by Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:   "For over a year, you have heard me saying that the humanitarian system is overstretched, underfunded and under attack.   Today, the challenge that we face collectively goes further. The question is no longer how we respond. It is whether we can respond at the scale and speed that people need. Our question to you today is this: is help coming?   Because the world around us is shifting – fast. Technology reshaping conflict. Politics fragmenting. Rules are ignored. Protections are eroding. And the humanitarian mission itself is being contested.   We are operating in environments which are more complex, more constrained and more dangerous than ever before. The past three years have been the deadliest on record for humanitarian workers. Over 1,000 of our colleagues killed. And we renew our sense of commitment to this humanitarian mission in their memory and in their honor.   These are not trends. They are lives. The child who goes without a meal. The patient who cannot reach a clinic. The family forced once again to flee.   On my visits to the frontlines over the past year, I have met those people again and again. And they ask me: is help coming?   This year, we aim to reach 87 million people with life-saving support. Not because needs have fallen – over 252 million people still require aid – but because resources have plummeted.   And that leaves us with the hardest decision humanitarians face: who we can reach – and who we cannot reach.   The gap, though, is no longer just between needs and funding. It is between needs and our ability, our willingness to act. Those who pay the price are those already closest to the edge. Families making impossible choices. Children going hungry. Clinics closing. Water running dry. Women and girls exposed to violence, exploitation and abuse.   And so, we ask again: is help coming?   Because we cannot accept this as the new normal. Not for the people who we serve. Not under the humanitarian imperative. And not for our collective conscience. This is not only a test for our humanitarian system. It is a test for all of us.   Over the past year, we have prioritized harder, cut bureaucracy and duplication, and pushed decision-making much closer to people we serve. But reform is not retreat. The choices we make reflect constraints – not diminished need. The principle of humanity remains unchanged: we must help people wherever they are.   Our second discussion, as part of the Humanitarian Affairs Segment, focuses on international humanitarian law.   Because there is no humanitarian action without it. Access. Principles. Protection of aid workers. These are not abstractions. They determine whether we can reach people at all. And there is no delivering without defending. So, we will defend, firmly, the values at the heart of humanitarian action: impartiality, neutrality, independence.   Our third discussion in our conversations is of course, about funding. Without resources, there is no response at scale.   We have received now $9.3 billion, updated this morning, of the $23 billion required to save 87 million lives. This is of course less than one per cent of global defence spending right now.   But humanity is not measured only in dollars and pledges and commitments.   We pay tribute also to the countries and communities often carrying the heaviest burdens themselves, who continue to open their doors and provide safety and refuge to people forced to flee.   We know that the resources exist. The question is how we choose to use them. Because budgets are not numbers. They are choices. And the future of humanitarian action will not be decided by humanitarians alone.   Parties to conflict must uphold international law. States must protect humanitarian space. Donors, development partners and the private sector must invest in resilience. In a fragmented world, humanitarian action remains proof that collective action is still possible.   So far, we have reached nearly 23 million people with life-saving support, even facing the unprecedented pressures that we do. And I can reassure you and commit to you that we can reach many more if we receive the necessary funding to do so.   Because saving lives, reducing suffering and protecting dignity is not optional. It is our shared responsibility. Our shared humanity. And so, I leave you with that question: is help coming?   http://www.unocha.org/news/ecosoc-has-un-relief-chief-warns-widening-gap-between-humanitarian-need-and-ability-act http://humanitarianaction.info/document/mid-year-review-global-humanitarian-overview-delivering-people-crisis-against-odds/article/trends-crises-and-needs-civilians-line-fire http://www.unocha.org/latest/news-and-stories http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/alarming-lack-of-funding-for-lifesaving-aid-in-2026   * 2026 Global Humanitarian Policy Forum: Navigating Global Risks: Priorities for the Future of Humanitarian Action: http://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k15/k15g5o0twt   * Global Network Against Food Crises: From Global Reform to Local Leadership: Leveraging the Humanitarian Reset to combat acute food insecurity, malnutrition and famine: http://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k18/k18va690em   http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/events/global-reform-local-leadership-leveraging-humanitarian-reset-combat-acute-food-insecurity   * USAID’s demise comes a staggering human cost. The Lancet medical journal has published a study finding that more than 14 million people — a third of them children — will die by 2030 if current U.S. foreign aid cuts remain in place: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01186-9/fulltext   http://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-humanitarian-assistance-report-2026-enar http://alnap.org/help-library/resources/global-humanitarian-assistance-gha-report-2026/ http://healthconflictcommission.org/the-report/ http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00564-7/abstract http://interagencystandingcommittee.org/localisation http://www.ifrc.org/happening-now/advocacy-hub/localization http://startnetwork.org/learn-change/resources/library/localisation-works-locally-led-humanitarian-action-context-reset http://www.forus-international.org/en/news/locally-led-development-wont-work-without-shifting-real-power http://www.icrc.org/en/article/we-can-adapt-anything-not-war http://www.centreforhumanitarianleadership.org/research/publications/sudanese-crisis-response-leaders-humanitarian-system/ http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/hundreds-sudans-community-kitchens-forced-shut-last-six-months-new-islamic-relief-research-finds http://near.ngo/ http://gh.bmj.com/content/10/9/e018331#ref-39 http://www.afd.fr/en/resources/opinion-g7-countries-international-partnerships
	Iran conflict undermines world economy and deepens harm for vulnerable people by WFP, UNOPS, FAO, UNCTAD, agencies   June 2026 (UN News)   What began as a geopolitical crisis in the Middle East is increasingly becoming a food security crisis elsewhere, with UN agencies warning of rising hunger in Africa and malnourished children being turned away from medical clinics in Afghanistan.   Despite a fragile ceasefires between the United States and Iran, sporadic hostilities and continued uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz – one of the world's most important energy and shipping corridors – continue to reverberate through global supply chains, pushing up transport and fuel costs and straining aid operations already grappling with severe funding shortfalls.   Speaking at UN Headquarters World Food Programme (WFP) Acting Executive Director Carl Skau said warnings issued earlier in the crisis about the knock-on effects of higher energy prices were now materialising in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.   “Just to illustrate that what we warned against is now playing out in real time in many of these contexts,” he told reporters.   Several weeks ago, WFP warned that if oil prices remained high, as many as 45 million additional people could be pushed into hunger because of the close relationship between energy and food prices.   That pressure is already mounting: an additional 2.5 million people in Somalia have become acutely food insecure, while a further 2.3 million people have been pushed into acute hunger in Afghanistan and another 1.3 million in Sri Lanka.   The drivers differ from country to country, Mr. Skau said, but include rising food prices, underfunded humanitarian responses and sharply higher operating costs that reduce the number of people aid agencies can reach with available resources. The longer-term outlook is equally troubling.   Mr. Skau warned that higher fertilizer costs may well reduce agricultural productivity in east Africa during the coming planting season, echoing disruptions seen after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and raising the prospect of additional food shortages months from now.   The effects are increasingly visible in humanitarian supply chains.   The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that maritime diversions around the Cape of Good Hope are adding between two and four weeks to shipping times, while air freight capacity across Middle Eastern routes has tightened and congestion is spreading through ports in Africa and elsewhere.   “Increased transport costs mean less money for the lifesaving supplies children need,” said Jean-Cédric Meeus, UNICEF’s Chief of Global Transport and Logistics.   “What begins as a disruption to shipping lanes can spiral into a humanitarian crisis.”   According to UNICEF, air freight costs for vaccines shipped from India to Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have risen by up to 70 per cent. Trucking costs for lifesaving therapeutic food destined for Somalia, South Sudan and the DRC have also increased by a third. Sea freight costs for education materials bound for Yemen and Mozambique have surged by as much as 150 per cent.   UNICEF estimates that supply disruptions could delay critical humanitarian cargo by four to six months.   “For a child in a crisis zone, delays in arrival of vaccines or nutrition interventions can mean the difference between life and death,” Mr. Meeus warned.   Few places illustrate the cascading consequences more starkly than Afghanistan. Fresh from a visit to the country, Mr. Skau described witnessing hundreds of mothers carrying visibly malnourished children away from a rural health clinic near Jalalabad because nutrition supplies had run out.   The shortages stem from a combination of funding cuts and supply-chain disruptions that have complicated deliveries previously routed through neighbouring countries.   “I've never seen anything like it,” Mr. Skau said. “The desperation in that clinic is hard to describe.”   Afghanistan is simultaneously coping with economic pressures linked to the regional crisis and the return of some 2.8 million people deported or repatriated from neighbouring countries over the past year.   The humanitarian consequences are part of a broader economic shock. Before the escalation began on 28 February, roughly a fifth of global oil shipments passed through the Strait of Hormuz.   Since then, disruptions have driven up crude oil prices and increased costs across transport networks and supply chains. Hundreds of vessels and tens of thousands of seafarers remain stranded.   A new analysis by the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD, warns that the burden is falling disproportionately on poorer countries.   Of 75 vulnerable economies studied, 65 are net oil importers. Together they are home to nearly one billion people, more than 30 per cent of whom live on less than $3 a day.   UNCTAD estimates that a sustained 50 per cent increase in refined oil prices would add more than $20 billion annually to their collective import bill.   For some countries, including Mauritania, Gambia, Vanuatu, Maldives and Burkina Faso, the additional costs could exceed five per cent of national economic output.   The developments echo concerns previously raised by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in April, when he warned that even under the most optimistic scenario, disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz would depress economic growth, increase inflation and disrupt global trade.   He cautioned that a prolonged crisis could push millions more people into poverty and hunger while reversing hard-won development gains.   The many consequences outlined by Mr. Guterres are emerging: higher food and transport costs, disrupted supply chains, mounting pressure on vulnerable economies and growing humanitarian needs.   As Mr. Skau put it, the consequences that agencies warned about are now “playing out in real time.”   http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-warning-becomes-reality-millions-middle-east-crisis-pushes-poorest-families-further-hunger http://www.wfp.org/stories/how-mideast-crisis-deepening-hunger-far-beyond-front-lines http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/joint-news-release-wfpfaounicef-risk-famine-persists-nearly-195-million-people-face-acute-food-insecurity-sudan http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/joint-press-release-un-agencies-warn-worsening-hunger-and-malnutrition-crisis-somalia-famine-risk-emerges http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/wfpfao-millions-trapped-deepening-hunger-crisis-drc-needs-far-outpace-humanitarian-response http://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/nigeria-2026-lean-season-unprecedented-food-and-nutrition-crisis-advocacy-note   http://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/wfp-scales-back-food-assistance-syria-amid-funding-shortfalls http://www.wfp.org/news/hunger-intensifies-south-sudan-78-million-people-face-high-acute-food-insecurity-and-22 http://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghan-women-and-children-pay-price-crises-converge-and-funding-shrinks http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-152/en/ http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis http://unctad.org/publication/strait-hormuz-disruptions-beyond-reopening-lasting-impacts-vulnerable-economies http://www.undp.org/press-releases/middle-east-conflict-fallout-pushes-countries-toward-us1-trillion-fossil-fuel-subsidy-bill-warns-un-development-programme http://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/strait-of-hormuz-conflict-threatens-global-food-prices-as-fao-warns-time-is-running-out/en   21 Apr. 2026   Strait of Hormuz: With hunger looming, life-saving fertilizer shipments cannot wait.   ‘Immediate’ solution needed to restore fertilizer supply, says head of UN Taskforce established to facilitate the safe passage of fertilizers and related raw materials for humanitarian purposes.   Unless a solution can be found immediately to allow fertilizers through the Strait of Hormuz in time for planting season, there’s going to be a “very significant and severe” food crisis which will hit the poorest countries and their citizens hardest.   That’s according to Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which provides infrastructure, procurement and project management services around the world.   He told UN News: “The planting season has already started...So if we don't get some solution immediately the crisis will be very significant and severe, particularly for the poorest countries and for the poorest citizens."   "We have one-third of all fertilizers in the world going through the Strait of Hormuz, so you can see how important the Persian Gulf is for the production of fertilizers and how impacted is the entire supply chain of fertilizers with the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.   "We also know that there are some countries that are more dependent on those fertilizers. Unfortunately, some of those countries were already highly vulnerable due to previous shocks, such as Sudan, Somalia, Mozambique, Kenya, Sri Lanka. These are just a few countries that are high importers of fertilizers coming from the region.   UN News: We’re talking about a time-sensitive period because it is the agricultural season in some parts of the world, and not having fertilizers will have a huge effect on food security.   Jorge Moreira da Silva: The FAO and the World Food Programme have been very clear explaining the relevance of fertilizers for agriculture, yields and productivity. Fertilizers bring some components, some ingredients that allow the plants to grow faster and to have better productivity. This is particularly important in countries whose conditions are already fragile due to climate change. And we know also that if you don't get productivity on agriculture, you will have food insecurity, hunger and starvation.   The World Food Programme presented numbers that are very clear. The disruption of the Strait of Hormuz can push at least 45 million more people into hunger and starvation. So clearly, we need to do something immediately..   Apr. 2026   The Heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank Group (WBG) and the World Food Programme (WFP) met to discuss the global economic and food security impacts of the war in the Middle East. They issued the following statement:   "The Middle East war is upending lives and livelihoods in the region and beyond. It has already triggered one of the largest disruptions to global energy markets in modern history. Sharp increases in oil, gas, and fertilizer prices, together with transport bottlenecks, will inevitably lead to rising food prices and food insecurity.   The burden will fall most heavily on the world’s most vulnerable populations, particularly in low‑income, import‑dependent economies. Spikes in fuel prices and sharp increases in food prices are especially concerning where fiscal space is constrained and debt burdens are already high, reducing governments’ ability to protect vulnerable households".   “The impact of the war is substantial, global, disproportionately affecting energy importers, in particular low-income countries,” a joint statement by leaders of the IEA, IMF and World Bank said. “The shock has led to higher oil, gas and fertilizer prices, triggering concerns about food security and job losses as well.”   During the conflict between Iran and the U.S. and Israel, more than 80 hydrocarbon facilities, including oil fields, gas fields, refineries and terminals, have sustained damage in the Middle East, with more than one-third severely damaged, the IEA said, adding that repairs could take up to two years.   The IMF said that even if the war ends quickly, lasting damage to the world’s economy will still happen, with higher inflation, weaker economic growth, and job losses.   * Higher prices and constraints on diesel fuel availability, which is critical for the production and movement of agricultural goods, will impact food production in the coming months, leading to higher food prices.   * The Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol warns the energy crunch prompted by the US-Israel war on Iran exceeds the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks and gas shortages stemming from Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine put together.   Birol said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on energy facilities had reduced global oil supplies by about 11 million barrels per day, more than double the combined shortfalls of the 1970s’ crises. He said liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies had been reduced by about 140 billion cubic metres, compared with a shortfall of 75bcm in the aftermath of Ukraine’s invasion by Russia.   “The global economy is facing a major threat today, and I very much hope that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible,” Birol said. At least 40 energy facilities across nine countries have been severely damaged in the conflict, he said.   The Paris-based intergovernmental organisation, earlier this month announced plans to coordinate the release of 400 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles. The IEA chief said he was in consultation with different countries about releasing more strategic oil reserves if needed, but the “single most important solution” to the crisis was to open the strait, which usually carries about one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies.   Oil prices have surged more than 50 percent since the start of the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, followed by Iran’s blockade of the critical energy waterway, impacting people worldwide.   http://unctad.org/news/hormuz-shipping-disruptions-raise-risks-energy-fertilizers-and-vulnerable-economies http://unctad.org/publication/strait-hormuz-disruptions-growth-and-financial-implications http://www.ifpri.org/landing/conflict-shocks-food-systems-blog http://reliefweb.int/report/world/fao-chief-economist-warns-severe-global-food-security-risks-disruption-strait-hormuz-trade-corridor http://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/strait-of-hormuz-crisis--fertilizer-scarcity-will-affect-next-harvests-and-food-supplies--fao-warns/en http://www.fao.org/in-focus/middle-east-conflict-2026/en http://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/news/2026/05/118724/global-energy-and-trade-disruption-pushing-millions-towards-poverty http://www.fao.org/giews/country-analysis/external-assistance/en/ http://www.wfp.org/news/global-disruptions-supply-chains-are-driving-tomorrows-hunger-crisis   * Oil prices and food prices move in concert with energy prices affecting every stage of the food supply chain from the fertilisers used in the fields to the trucks that carry food from the fields to supermarket shelves. Rising oil prices directly affect shipping and the cost of transportation.   In lower-income countries, where populations spend a far greater share of their income on food and import large quantities of grain and fertiliser, rising oil prices will translate into higher food prices and potential food shortages. For much of the world, higher energy prices will raise the cost of living, lead to higher inflation and interest rates curtailing economic growth and increasing unemployment.
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