ReliefWeb Updates
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LTS Nigeria Protection Crisis (May 2026)
Country: Nigeria Sources: Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached Infographic.
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Country: Nigeria Sources: Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached Infographic.
Country: Nigeria Sources: Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached Map.
Country: Sudan Sources: Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached Infographic.
Country: Sudan Sources: Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached file. The WFP-led Logistics and Telecommunications Cluster (LTC) was activated as the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) on 25 May 2023 in response to the conflict crisis in Sudan. This Situation Report provides a monthly update on LTC telecoms activities. All references to the LTC in this report relate to the telecommunications area of the cluster. Summary Points โข In May, LTC Telecoms sustained critical connectivity across seven hubs despite funding and access constraints, while expansion plans in Khartoum slowed due to renewed insecurity. UN agencies are preparing phased returns from Port Sudan to the capital. โข LTC Telecoms is transitioning to an on-demand service model, managed by WFP, using cost-recovery and costsharing to sustain operations. Piloted in Al Gedaref, the model supports shared connectivity services and is expanding to more stable areas in eastern Sudan. โข LTC Telecoms is finalizing a project to support community connectivity in Khartoum, in coordination with the Protection Working Group and partner Go Green, to strengthen digital services at community centres.
Country: Afghanistan Source: World Food Programme Please refer to the attached file. Highlights Exchange Rate and Trade Dynamics: During the fourth week of May, the Afghani exchange rate remained stable at AFN 63.8/USD, while remaining stronger than both last year and the three-year average, helping to moderate the impact of imported inflation on domestic markets. Market supply conditions remained generally stable, supported by ongoing domestic harvests and continued imports through regional trade corridors. However, transportation costs, regional trade uncertainties, and high import dependence continue to pose risks to market stability and contribute to localized price fluctuations. Food Items: Overall, national average food prices remained relatively stable during the fourth week of May, with moderate week-on-week declines across major food commodities. However, compared to last year, most key food commodities continue to remain above year-ago levels, particularly wheat grain (+14%), wheat flour (high-price +9%; low-price +12%), rice (high-quality +38%; low-quality +28%), cooking oil (+4%), sugar (+25%), and salt (+10%). Meanwhile, pulses (-12%) and bread (-4%), remain below their respective levels from the same period last year. The higher year-on-year prices reflect increases recorded between Oct-25 and Mar-26 following border closures with Pakistan and the rerouting of trade through Iran and Central Asia. Since then, improved trade flows and market availability have gradually contributed to declining price levels. Vegetables: Vegetable prices continued their seasonal decline, supported by increased domestic production and improved market availability. Tomato prices recorded a significant weekly decrease of 18.5%, while potato prices declined by 2.3%. In contrast, onion prices increased by 4.6%, partially reversing the declines observed in recent months and moving back toward more typical seasonal levels. Compared to last year, tomato prices remain 20% lower and onion prices 35% lower, while potato prices continue to remain substantially above last yearโs level (+24%). Increased arrivals of seasonal produce from several provinces, continued to improve market availability and support downward price movements across major markets. Non-Food Items: Diesel prices increased slightly during the week (+1.3%) and remained 14% above last year's level. Fertilizer prices remained broadly stable, with DAP increasing by 0.8% and urea by 0.3% compared to the previous week. Compared to last year, fertilizer prices continue to remain elevated, particularly for urea (+45%) and DAP (+16%), maintaining pressure on agricultural production costs. Improved seed and animal feed prices remained largely unchanged during the week. Livestock and Labour Market: The price of a one-year-old female sheep increased by 6.0%, driven by stronger demand ahead of Eid-ul-Adha, when livestock purchases typically increase across the country. Meanwhile, labour market conditions remained weak during the week, with labour availability declining slightly to 1.9 days per week, compared to the previous week. Labour availability remains substantially below both last year (-20%) and the three-year average (-16%), reflecting continued constraints in employment opportunities and increased competition among casual labourers.
Country: Lebanon Source: World Food Programme BEIRUT, Lebanon โ The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is warning that nearly three months into the conflict, Lebanon faces a deepening humanitarian emergency with a critical combination of displacement and increased food insecurity. More than one million people remain displaced, while soaring prices, lost incomes and strained markets are pushing food further out of reach for vulnerable families. WFP has rapidly scaled up its response nationwide, but the situation remains highly fragile. Sustained humanitarian access, stable supply flows and predictable funding are critical to ensuring continued assistance for those most in need. Below are the latest updates on WFP operations and the food security situation in Lebanon: Since 2 March, WFP has reached a total of more than 700,000 conflict-affected people across Lebanon with emergency food and cash assistance. On average, WFP has supported close to 150,000 people per day since the escalation, providing hot meals, ready-to-eat rations, and food parcels to families sheltering in displacement sites. The ongoing conflict characterized by daily bombardments and displacement orders is challenging humanitarian access and resulting in continued displacement. These conditions are constraining the delivery of critical assistance, particularly in hard-to-reach areas. A total of 24 humanitarian convoys have been deployed to southern Lebanon, including border villages, Tyre and Hermel, to reach communities facing access constraints. More than 50 percent of the requested convoys have been delayed or cancelled due to movement and access risks. Current WFP assistance includes emergency cash support for close to half a million Lebanese through national systems, as well as cash support for more than 100,000 Syrian refugees. Since the onset of the emergency, WFP has distributed nearly five million hot meals, prioritizing newly displaced families arriving with limited belongings. WFP has supported more than 215,000 displaced people across over 500 shelters nationwide, alongside approximately 85,500 people in host communities and hard-to-reach areas. To help stabilize food availability, a shipment of 250 metric tons of wheat flour recently entered Lebanon through the corridor with Jordan, made possible through close coordination between Lebanese and Jordanian authorities. The shipment is supporting approximately 10,000 vulnerable households. The WFP-led Logistics Cluster has supported a total of 64 partners โ including UNFPA, UNRWA, IOM, UNICEF, UNHCR, and international and national NGOs โ of which 18 have utilized the logistics services to transport nearly 2,500 mยณ of cargo. The latest food security analysis confirms a sharp deterioration nationwide, with 1.24 million people โ nearly one in four โ facing acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or worse) between April and August 2026. Displacement, rising food and fuel prices, market disruptions, and broader economic shocks are driving the crisis. While food remains available in many areas, it is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Since the start of the escalation, vegetable prices have risen by more than 20 percent, while bread prices have increased by around 15 percent. Market conditions vary significantly: in southern Lebanon and Nabatieh, more than 80 percent of markets are no longer functioning, while in Beirut and other areas markets remain operational but under growing strain. To sustain life-saving assistance and respond to rising needs, WFP requires USD 112 million between May and August 2026 (USD 44.1 million per month). Without adequate and predictable funding, WFPโs ability to maintain emergency food and cash assistance for vulnerable families across Lebanon will be at risk. Contact For more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org): Rasha Abou Dargham, WFP/Lebanon, +961 76 866 779 Abeer Etefa, WFP/Cairo, Mob +20 106 66 34 352 Julian Miglierini, WFP/ Rome, Mob. +39 348 2316793 Rene McGuffin, WFP/ Washington Mob. +1 771 245 4268
Countries: Lithuania, Ukraine Sources: International Organization for Migration, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. Background Between 24 February 2022 and October 2025, over 5.7 million individuals are estimated to have fled Ukraine due to the ongoing war.ยน Of these, more than 101,000 have entered the Republic of Lithuania (hereafter referred to as Lithuania). At the time of writing of this report, more than 51,000 individuals held valid temporary residence permits pursuant to the temporary protection mechanism.ยฒ This remains the largest arrival of refugees recorded in Lithuania's history. The population that has settled in the country primarily consists of women (47%) and children (31%), along with elderly individuals (13%) and persons with disabilities (6%)โgroups that often face heightened risks and require targeted support and services.ยณ Given the continued instability in Ukraine, it is anticipated that displacement will continue in 2026, with new arrivals seeking refuge in Lithuania and joining those already residing in the country. Lithuania has demonstrated a strong and sustained commitment to welcoming and assisting refugees fleeing Ukraine since 2022. The Ministry of Social Security and Labour leads the national coordination of the refugee response, while municipalities and civil society organizations play active roles in providing direct support and services. This collective effortโ driven by government institutions, civil society, and local communitiesโreflects a comprehensive whole- of-society strategy aimed at ensuring protection and inclusion. Despite these coordinated efforts and the availability of tailored support for individuals with specific needs, many refugees continue to face barriers that limit their ability to fully sustain themselves and support their families. The 2025-2026 Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) builds on previous iterations by providing targeted, practical support to host countries. It further aims to ensure groups such as older people, children, people with disabilities and survivors of gender-based violence are receiving specialized assistance to address their needs, and that they are not left behind as the response shifts towards sustainability. To support a coordinated and effective response, access to comprehensive data is crucial for the design, delivery, and assessment of assistance programmes. In this regard, UNHCR Lithuania, working in collaboration with IOM and Lithuanian Red Cross, as well as other key actors engaged in the refugee response within Lithuania, carried out the 2025 Lithuania Socio-Economic Insights Survey (SEIS). The SEIS is a collaborative, inter-agency initiative designed to identify the most urgent needs of refugees coming from Ukraine across key sectors, including protection, health, education, accommodation, and livelihoods. It aligns with the objectives of the Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) for the Ukrainian refugee situation5 and specifically supports Lithuania's inter-agency RRP, led by UNHCR. SEIS serves as a source of important and comprehensive data for service providers. The 2025 SEIS in Lithuania was coordinated by UNHCR and developed through a collaborative effort, including with focal points from government, humanitarian actors and civil society, to ensure the survey maintained a multi-sectoral and inter-agency approach. Drawing on their specific expertise, each actor contributed to the design phase of the 2025 SEIS. The process included consultations at a round table event bringing together the key stakeholders involved in the refugee response. This final report serves as a strategic tool to guide humanitarian interventions in Lithuania throughout 2026 and beyond, informing the work of partners and stakeholders. It supports a more targeted and prioritized response and reflects the Grand Bargain commitments6 to improved harmonization and coordination of assessment efforts.
Country: Guinea-Bissau Source: World Food Programme BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau โ Children and vulnerable families in Guinea-Bissau are being pushed further into hunger and malnutrition as funding shortfalls force cuts to critical programmes during the June to August lean season, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today. The cuts come at a critical time for Guinea-Bissau with almost 130,000 people expected to face crisis levels of hunger in the coming months, more than one in five people unable to meet their basic food needs, and 73 percent of the population lacking essential nutrients. The impact of supply chain disruptions and cost increases linked to the Middle East crisis, and declining funding is placing significant strain on WFP operations. The number of schoolchildren receiving school meals has already been drastically reduced from 283,400 to around 152,000, leaving more than 130,000 school children without this critical daily assistance. โSchool meals are more than just a meal, for a lot of students itโs the only nutritious food they receive each day,โ said Mahamane Badamassi, WFP a.i Country Director in Guinea-Bissau. โThese children are now left on their own, with no guarantee of regular meals or adequate nutrition.โ In addition, WFP has been forced to suspend the distribution of specialized nutritious foods for children under the age of two, leaving approximately 56,000 children without access to essential nutrition during a critical stage of development. This disruption raises serious concerns about a potential rise in malnutrition and increased vulnerability to disease among young children. โChildren, as we know, are particularly vulnerable to diseases during the first two years of life,โ added M. Badamassi. โThere is a risk that they may fall into malnutrition and become more exposed to illness.โ Despite these challenges, WFP continues to deliver life-saving assistance but urgently requires USD 6.4 million to sustain essential food and nutrition assistance for vulnerable people in Guinea-Bissau. # # # The United Nations World Food Programme is the worldโs largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp_media Contact For more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org): Charlotte Alves, WFP/ Bissau, Mob. +245 95 546 22 27
Country: Jamaica Source: World Food Programme Please refer to the attached file.
Country: Bangladesh Source: World Food Programme Please refer to the attached file.
Country: Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Source: World Food Programme Please refer to the attached file.
Country: Egypt Source: UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Egypt is taking important steps to strengthen its financial resilience to disasters and climate-related risks through the development of a national disaster risk financing strategy. Government institutions, United Nations agencies, and national stakeholders gathered in Cairo for a national workshop jointly organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in coordination with the National Committee for Crisis Management and Disaster Risk Reduction affiliate to the Prime Minister's Office. The workshop marked an important milestone in supporting Egyptโs efforts to strengthen risk-informed public financing, enhance preparedness and recovery policies, and reduce the growing impacts of disasters and climate-related shocks on communities, infrastructure, and the national economy. Strengthening risk-informed financing approaches The workshop brought together representatives from national and government institutions to discuss the foundations of a comprehensive national approach to disaster risk financing and resilience planning. Discussions focused on the key determinants and overall structure for developing the national strategy, including frameworks and approaches for disaster risk financing, and the classification of disasters and risks. In the workshop, international experiences and good practices related to preparedness financing and response were discussed. Opening the workshop, Raidan Alsaqqaf, Deputy Regional Director of the Regional Office for Arab States at UNDRR, highlighted the increasing impacts of disasters on public finances, livelihoods, infrastructure, and essential services across the region. He emphasized: โCountries that have clear and pre-arranged financing mechanisms are better able to protect the most vulnerable groups, maintain essential services, accelerate recovery, and reduce long-term losses.โ Additionally, in his opening remarks, Ghimar Deeb, Deputy Resident Representative of the UNDP Country Office in Egypt accentuated that "No single financial instrument can efficiently address all risks. Effective disaster risk financing protects people, livelihoods, public finances, and critical infrastructure. Therefore, the development of a Disaster Risk Financing Strategy aims to provide the Government of Egypt with a structured framework of financing instruments to respond more effectively to disaster-related losses." Building partnerships for resilience The workshop further strengthened collaboration between government institutions and UN agencies working to advance resilience and sustainable development in Egypt. It also provided an opportunity to identify the next steps for the development of the national disaster risk financing strategy, stakeholder engagement, institutional coordination, and implementation framework. The initiative reflects the growing partnership between UNDRR and UNDP in supporting governments across the Arab region to strengthen risk-informed development, disaster resilience, and financing approaches that link climate adaptation, preparedness, and sustainable development priorities. Strengthening disaster risk financing is also critical to protecting development gains, sustaining economic resilience, and ensuring continuity of essential services during crises. As climate and disaster risks continue to affect economies and communities across the Arab region, strengthening disaster risk financing is becoming increasingly important to support prevention, preparedness, resilient recovery, and long-term development planning.
Country: Ukraine Sources: Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached Map.
Country: Ukraine Sources: Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached Map.
Country: Ukraine Sources: Voluntas, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached file. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background As Ukraine enters the fifth year of the full-scale invasion, the country remains heavily affected y ongoing hostilities. As of early 2025, 3.7 million people remain internally displaced, 6.9 million are refugees abroad, and over 40,838 civilian casualties have been recorded.1 The impact is most severe in frontline oblasts such as Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia.2 Continued displacement has deepened poverty, strained social protection systems, and disrupted livelihoods; particularly in rural and conflict-affected areas, where unemployment remains high.3 Social transfers, including pensions and targeted assistance to displaced people, have played a crucial role in preventing further hardship, but coverage may not be reaching hard-to-reach groups such as people without documentation, and hidden groups like Roma communities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people living with HIV/AIDS, or men avoiding military conscription.4 The psychological toll of the prolonged conflict is also g owing, with 63 percent of households reporting mental health challenges related to ongoing uncertainty and displacement.5 According to Ukraineโs 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, 12.7 million people in Ukraine are in need of assistance. Among them, 45 percent are women, 30 percent are older people (60+ years old), 15 percent are children, and 14 percent have disabilities. Within this context, the humanitarian aid landscape is shifting due to funding constraints and a gradual transition from emergency relief to resilience-building efforts 7 Emergency assistance is increasingly concentrated in frontline and war-affected oblasts, while support in cent al and western Ukraine is being scaled back as international organizations shift their strategies away from short-term emergency aid toward resilience- and development-oriented programming in areas perceived as more stable.8 However, humanitarian actors have raised concerns that this shift may create gaps in assistance for vulnerable populations who continue to depend on support in these more stable areas where aid is being scaled back. As operations become more localized, humanitarian actors have also expressed concerns about the capacity of Ukraineโs social security system to take over responsibilities currently handled by international organizations . This is largely due to budget pressures, a shortage of qualified personnel, particularly in social services, and the destruction of essential facilities caused by missile strikes.9 Concerns have also been raised about the long-term sustainability of aid delivery, particularly as the war drags on and humanitarian needs continue to grow. Local organizations also worry that cross-cutting aspects of humanitarian work โ such as gender equality, accountability to affected people, the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, and disability inclusion โ may be deprioritized amid international funding cuts, due to limited capacity and competing government priorities. As Ukraine navigates these ongoing challenges, a balanced approach between emergency response and long-term resilience-building is essential to ensure that basic needs are met, social tensions between recipients and non-recipients of aid are minimized, and economic recovery is supported.
Country: Ukraine Source: World Food Programme Please refer to the attached file. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2025 was the deadliest for civilians since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, particularly for people living at the frontlines. It marked a significant escalation in hostilities despite efforts to impose a ceasefire, with Ukraine recording the highest levels of deadly violence for every month compared to previous years. The escalation of the war continues to disrupt domestic production, trade routes, energy supply, and foreign investment, further restricting Ukraineโs economic outlook. Attacks on ports significantly reduced Ukraineโs agricultural export capacity, which translated into higher prices and inflation, directly increasing household vulnerability. The human impact of the war continues to deepen, particularly among households living closest to active hostilities, with those residing within 50 km of the frontline bearing the greatest burden. More than 90% of all conflict events recorded in 2025 occurred within this zone, and 67% of civilian casualties also occurred near the frontline. Approximately 2 million war-affected people in Ukraine are identified as high-priority cases for humanitarian food assistance. More than half of the high-priority cases, about 1.2 million people, live within 50km of the frontline. This number reflects a vulnerability-driven analysis centered on four key issue areas: vulnerable populations within 50km of the frontline, IDPs, evacuees, and people affected by strikes. However, a nationwide analysis show that the overall number of food insecure people in Ukraine continues to rise, with an additional 1.5 million people now requiring food assistance across the country, compared to 2024. Households living within 50 km of the frontline are older, poorer, more dependent, and more reliant on assistance than those living further away. The proportion of elderlyonly households rises to 36% in the 0โ50 km zone, compared to 27% beyond 50 km, while older persons living alone are significantly more common close to the frontline. Displacement and return dynamics are more pronounced close to the frontline with up to 30% of surveyed household within 50km of the frontline displaced and 20% returnees. Household-level analysis shows that at least one in four households at the frontlines are food insecure. This is more prevalence in the 20km zone in eastern and southern region where more than 30% of the households are food insecure. Rural households tend to experience higher levels of food insecurity than urban households, although the magnitude of this gap varies by proximity to the frontline. Within the 0โ 20 km zone, 27% of rural households are food insecure compared to 22% of urban households. In the 20โ50 km zone, food insecurity levels are nearly identical between rural and urban households (both around 21%). The higher share of food insecurity within frontline areas particularly among rural residents reflects both the direct effects of conflict and the concentration of vulnerable populations in these locations. Large families, households with elderly members living alone, and households with a member with a disability show food insecurity levels well above the overall average. Many food-insecure households continue to adopt unhealthy coping strategies including spending their savings, and more than half lack the economic capacity to meet their basic need without humanitarian assistance. consuming less preferred food or spending their savings, and more than half lack the economic capacity to meet their basic need without humanitarian assistance. Frontline households face compounded vulnerabilities. Limited economic opportunities, reduced agriculture production, deterioration in security, shelter and health lead to multidimensional deprivation. In fact, about half of food insecure households within 20km of the frontline are also multidimensionally deprived. While market generally functions, households living closest to the frontline continue to experience significant disruption in market access. About 20% of households within 20km of the frontline report lacking uninterrupted access to markets, and around 13%, particularly those living within 10 km of the frontline, report having no market access at all. Food assistance, provided both as inโkind and cash transfers, has been central to alleviating immediate food gaps for vulnerable households in the frontline. WFP assistance is targeted toward households with the lowest economic capacity, and analysis shows that it translates into a measurable and meaningful reduction in food insecurity, reducing the probability of low economic capacity among assisted households by close to 20 percentage points. But with humanitarian funding declining and needs continuing to rise, many vulnerable households may soon be unable to access the food assistance they depend on. Three actions are critical to prevent a reversal of hard-won progress: First, sustaining monthly food assistance for the 2 million priority cases is essential, alongside protecting the 0โ20 km frontline zone from coverage reductions, where the near-total collapse of local markets means that any cut would have immediate and severe consequences for household food security. Due to market disruption, the 0-20km zone is particularly suited for in-kind food distribution. Second, cash transfer values should be regularly adjusted to reflect documented food inflation, as maintaining outdated transfer levels results in a silent erosion of impact and undermines the purchasing power donors intend their contributions to deliver. Finally, robust impact evidence provides strong proof of effectiveness and should be actively leveraged in dialogue to justify sustained investment in Ukraine, particularly in contexts where assistance has successfully reduced visible needs without eliminating underlying vulnerability.
Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia Source: ELRHA In the first blog introducing this series, Adrienne Testa, from the UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub and Elrha discussed how fundamental it is to measure excess mortality if response actors want to understand the severity of a humanitarian crisis and guide aid prioritisation. In our second blog we focus on the work of a consortium led by IMPACT Initiatives. This consortium is drawing attention to the roles that national and local actors play in mortality data collection and use by decision-makers and what is needed to design more localised mortality estimation systems in humanitarian contexts. The structural barriers we need to talk about Many of the challenges for local and national actors to collect mortality data and inform responses are well known, but poorly documented. They have fewer opportunities for technical training; face inequitable access to financial resources for activities; and structural barriers limit their representation in coordination forums where decision-making occurs about whether mortality data should be collected, who collects it, and what findings can mean. Meanwhile, international actors frequently have a seat at the table, and therefore control the narrative, deciding what data matters and how it will shape response priorities. Yet, local and national actors โ including non-governmental organisations (NGOs), universities, and public health institutes โ are often ideally placed to collect mortality estimates and inform response decisions. They have established connections and access to affected communities and contextual understanding of how to appropriately and effectively operate. They understand political sensitivities and how to navigate these so that mortality estimation findings will carry legitimacy with key stakeholders and decision-makers. Crucially, locally-led mortality estimation initiatives challenge long-standing power imbalances associated with colonial, top-down approaches to humanitarian assistance. Recognising this, three partners in our consortium, Evidence for Change, London School of Tropical Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and SIMAD University, were funded by the Humanitarian Innovation Hub in 2024-25 to imagine what an ideal mechanism might look like to systematically trigger mortality data collection for accountable decision-making in crises. Consultation with global humanitarian stakeholders confirmed: If we want better mortality data, we must widen the pool of people able to generate it. This starts with investing in and strengthening the capacities of local actors. Funding local actorsโ priorities and strengthening capacities With follow-on funding from UKHIH-Elrha in 2025-26, our consortium expanded. We teamed up with IMPACT Initiatives along with their partners at Addis Ababa and Mekelle Universities in Ethiopia and World Needs and Help, an NGO in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Together, weโre working to better understand real-world opportunities and obstacles faced by national actors when implementing mortality estimation activities. Our goal is to use this evidence to strengthen advocacy for approaches that support and prioritise local actors in this vital work. Rather than imposing a predefined research plan, each national partner has selected, tailored and implemented a mortality estimation activity to their context. Our consortium operates a โhelp deskโ to foster peer-learning and strengthen capacities across contexts. Activities include: Somalia: New approaches in a fragmented landscape Our previous work in Somalia demonstrated the effectiveness of well-designed data collection exercises to influence humanitarian decision-making - when findings were communicated - in a timely fashion and to the right people. However, we also saw how fragmented the current data landscape is, with mortality data not always collaboratively shared between institutions, and major gaps in mortality data coverage, particularly in areas outside government control. SIMAD University is therefore running a qualitative study with community burial attendants in hard-to-reach areas of Somalia, exploring what would be needed for this to become a feasible and acceptable mechanism of mortality reporting to bridge data gaps. Drawing on a nutrition and mortality surveillance system originally developed in the NGO sector, Evidence for Change is training female health workers to collect mortality data within a large-scale community-based government programme. Ethiopia: Regional partnerships for regional aid prioritisation Previously, universities across Ethiopia ran demographic surveillance sites in their local areas, with mortality and other data flowing to government authorities. Conflict dismantled many of these surveillance programmes. Addis Ababa and Mekelle Universities, which previously ran surveillance sites, are now partnering with regional health authorities in drought-affected Somali region and conflict-hit Tigray to conduct mortality surveys to help guide regional aid prioritisation. Mekelle University is also including a verbal autopsy component to describe the causes of death, something regional authorities found particularly valuable about the pre-war surveillance system because it helped them monitor the health of populations. Democratic Republic of Congo: Navigating insecurity and mistrust Engagements with both formal and informal authorities in eastern Congo can create tension or mistrust, complicating operational permissions and community access. Nevertheless, World Needs and Help is initiating a mortality survey in a conflictโaffected North Kivu region, to document the human toll of ongoing violence and displacement. While the organisation has no prior experience in mortality estimation, our consortium helped them expand their technical skillset. Their experience supporting needs assessments among various partners across the east means they are well positioned to navigate the complex challenges to ensure mortality estimation is possible. Alongside these activities, we are documenting how teams have approached the process, keeping a close eye on context. We are building on social science methodological approaches we developed in phase 1 to help us understand how politics, institutional identities and other evolving challenges shape the ways mortality actors work. Equitable and sustainable systems change None of these challenges have quick fixes. Building an equitable and sustainable approach to mortality estimation will require the concerted efforts of many stakeholders, working together to drive change. Our own consortium is part of that broader momentum. By documenting barriers and testing solutions today, our hope is to inform the strategy that will address these challenges tomorrow, supporting UKHIHโs drive for true systems innovation in humanitarian action.
Country: World Sources: Logistics Cluster, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached file.
Country: World Sources: Logistics Cluster, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached file. The current global climate and environmental crisis contributes to an increase in humanitarian needs and affects how organisations respond to these. In addition to supporting communities to better adapt to the consequences of climate change and environmental degradation, humanitarian organisations have a critical role in mitigating their climate and environmental impact; this is central to the โDo No Harmโ principle.
Country: Ukraine Sources: Logistics Cluster, World Food Programme Please refer to the attached files.