Humanitarian sector faces new and growing challenges

The humanitarian conditions are dire in several places around the world, but the situations in Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Gaza are the worst. Wars, environmental and natural crises and hunger are causing millions of people to live in unbearable conditions. Yet they survive, barely, waiting for assistance and support to help them live, rebuild and recover.
Among all this suffering comes the message from the US, the largest foreign aid contributor and most powerful country, that it seemingly does not care. In addition, Europe and almost all regions of the world have poor economic prospects. Meanwhile, the UN and its agencies are facing some existential threats. The next few years will be very challenging to humanitarian work politically, economically and socially.
Sudan, despite being called the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis, mostly dropped from the world’s attention last year as the Gaza war escalated. But attention should now return to Sudan, where the humanitarian situation has reached catastrophic levels. As a result of the civil war ongoing since 2023, more than 12 million people have been displaced from their homes, the healthcare infrastructure has collapsed, with 80 percent of hospitals in conflict areas nonfunctional, more than 750,000 people are on the brink of famine and 8.5 million people have reached emergency levels of hunger, while child mortality rates are high. Accessing people with the needed supplies and services is crucial.
The Syrian Arab Republic, with its 14 years of conflict now finally at end, is utterly bruised and battered. Slowly trying to get back to normality, there is an urgent need for the provision of essential services like water, sanitation, education, child protection, health and nutrition, and social protection. More than 7.2 million Syrians remain internally displaced and nearly 13.6 million people require improved water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Nearly 40 percent of the country’s health infrastructure is partly or completely nonfunctional, with only about 20,000 doctors remaining in the country. At least 2.4 million children are out of school and more than 1 million are at risk of dropping out due to ongoing insecurity and a lack of resources. The conflict pushed more than 85 percent of families into poverty.
Immense coordination efforts are needed at the national and international levels to provide all these services. Not addressing these urgent humanitarian needs will prolong the suffering and could lead to instability and insecurity, not only in the Syrian Arab Republic but throughout the region.
Gaza is crushed, leveled to the ground, after enduring 15 months of brutal indiscriminate Israeli force that left nothing standing. But its people refuse to give up and abandon their homes, despite returning to nothing but rubble. The aftermath involves catastrophic levels of hunger and a risk of famine caused by insufficient entry of aid, collapsed health services — as almost all hospitals were deliberately destroyed — and overcrowded shelters with no fuel or electricity. Gaza will need decades to rebuild and recover.
Convoy trucks carrying essential shelter material, water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, food and medicine started to trickle into Gaza last month after the ceasefire came into effect. Yet, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which is the main provider of healthcare, education, food and humanitarian relief for Palestinians, is now banned by Israel. Although the UN has said that UNRWA will continue working in all Palestinian territories, the ban will most likely affect the level of services provided.

The next few years will be very challenging to humanitarian work politically, economically and socially.

Maha Akeel

With President Donald Trump in the White House, the situation for UNRWA is unlikely to improve. Trump did not waste any time following his inauguration before announcing the withdrawal of the US from the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement on climate change. This sent shock waves across the world, although it was expected.
The other shock was Trump’s executive order to stop all foreign aid immediately, which brought scores of programs — from global health to emergency shelter and countertrafficking operations — to a halt. The freeze on foreign aid stopped work orders on existing efforts, suspended the disbursement of funds and put a hold on future projects until a 90-day review is completed. A temporary waiver was issued on existing lifesaving humanitarian assistance programs that include “core lifesaving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence assistance, as well as supplies and reasonable administrative costs.”
This decision has caused US officials and thousands of contractors in the aid sector to lose their jobs and has impacted the work of many international humanitarian organizations, including UN agencies. The US has provided loans, technical assistance and direct budget support, particularly to developing countries, to advance its interests for several decades. Like many countries, it has used foreign aid as a foreign policy tool. This kind of sudden disruption will diminish America’s reliability, credibility and leadership.
The void is unlikely to be filled by Europe. The member states of the EU are planning to slash funding to the world’s least-developed countries by about 35 percent over the next three years. Already, Sweden has halved its overseas aid budget, the Netherlands cut its by a third and Germany slashed €1 billion ($1.04 billion) from both its development and humanitarian funding. With these countries’ high deficits, aging populations, increased defense spending and potential trade wars, it is not surprising that foreign aid is being targeted.
All these developments and challenges for humanitarian work call for a different approach to increase the resilience and self-reliance of local communities, as well as to build the capacity of donor countries and regional organizations to ensure more efficient and faster interventions. Greater collaboration among agencies for the better use of resources is needed, along with pressure on the warring parties to prioritize humanitarian access.
Meanwhile, multilateral development banks and development finance institutions are playing a bigger role in funding. Philanthropists, social entrepreneurs and local organizations are stepping up their efforts and initiatives as well, especially in terms of using technology and innovative methods to respond and deliver.
The Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum will this month take place under the theme of “Navigating the Future of Humanitarian Response.” Organized by the Saudi aid agency KSrelief, in partnership with UN humanitarian agencies, the forum will explore topics such as the role of humanitarian diplomacy in addressing conflicts and disasters, which is important for mitigating humanitarian consequences, having access and delivering aid and supplies, and supporting local efforts. The forum will also address displacement, a growing long-term concern amid the rise of conflicts and natural disasters.
Saudi Arabia, particularly through its humanitarian arm KSrelief, has been playing a leading role in addressing crises and supporting vulnerable communities around the world and is scaling up its humanitarian efforts.

• Maha Akeel is a Saudi expert in communications, social development and international relations. She is a member of the UN’s Senior Women Talent Pipeline. X: @MahaAkeel1