This year, it is estimated that 305 million people urgently need humanitarian aid – including an entire generation of children. Violent conflicts, devastating natural disasters and global economic shocks are upending children's lives. Some of these crises – like the wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine – make headlines, but others are quickly forgotten. Here are five crises that still need our attention in 2025.
1. Crisis
Democratic Republic of Congo
Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo are experiencing armed conflict up close: it has driven millions of people from their homes, destroyed infrastructure including schools and hospitals, and exacerbated hunger and poverty in the country.
Added to this are the effects of climate change, with greater frequency and severity of droughts and flooding leading to the destruction of homes and crops, displacement of families and the increased risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases.
2. Crisis
somalia
Climate change has hit Somalia the hardest and the country is currently experiencing terrible famine conditions. Heavy rains in the autumn of 2023, after a long drought, caused flooding which brought the country to the edge of catastrophe.
Somalia has also been ravaged by a brutal ongoing civil war. Repeated fighting between various clans is forcing children and their families to flee their homes. The latest clashes and displacements have worsened the region’s fragile humanitarian situation, which is already plagued by droughts and flooding.
If I could make a wish, it would be for peace in Somalia. Peace is something that we have not had for so long that many of us don't even know what it feels like.
3. crisis
Yemen
The children of Yemen have been subjected to nearly ten years of uninterrupted violence. More than half the population urgently needs food, water and lifesaving assistance. Children and their families are facing displacement, food insecurity and limited access to basic services.
The fighting has claimed a deadly toll. In 2022, children happened upon mines or unexploded ordinance every two days – often with fatal results. Children encounter life-threatening situations simply by playing outside, gathering wood or fetching water.
If I could change the world, I would make it a safe place again. I would end this war once and for all.
4. Crisis
Haiti
In Haiti, children and their families are subjected to a deadly combination of escalating violence, increasing political and economic unrest, widespread poverty, growing food insecurity and an outbreak of cholera. As a result, nearly three million children are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
The country is also plagued by gang-related crime, leading to violent unrest, road blockades and a rise in kidnappings. Many children are at risk of being recruited to serve in armed gangs.
5. Crisis
The Sahel Region
The Central Sahel region includes Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and is experiencing one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. The region, already volatile, has become even more so from the effects of climate change, particularly from persistent periods of drought.
Security incidents, attacks and kidnappings have become a daily reality for the people of the region and the humanitarian workers on the ground. Like in every conflict, the children are the ones who suffer the most.
WE HELP CHILDREN IN NEED
Before, during and after crises, we have the capacity to adapt our projects to the current situation and provide immediate emergency relief through our programmes and partners in over 115 countries. We support children and families by providing them with the things that they had to leave behind in times of crisis.