Across the globe, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) joined forces with the UN family and partners to tackle urgent challenges and uplift vulnerable communities in 2025. From rebuilding hope in Afghanistan to strengthening resilience in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaza, and Haiti, these stories showcase how collaboration can transform lives—even in the most difficult circumstances.
Humanitarian Aid
2025 hit millions of people hard – in Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere. Escalating conflict and brutal funding cuts pushed already struggling communities even deeper into crisis. Attacks on civilians, including humanitarians, continued. And the climate crisis delivered its deadliest year yet, unleashing record-breaking storms, floods and wildfires that overwhelmed already fragile communities. There were staggering needs, but also faint glimmers of hope. Here are nine ways the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stood by people in crisis in 2025. Here, OCHA staff talk with patients in South Kivu, who receive free healthcare at Kalehe General Referral Hospital, with the support of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Humanitarian Fund.
On 8 December 2024, the people of Syria woke to the news that marked the end of 14 long years of deadly conflict. Syrians began returning to the places they once called home. Despite the challenges, hope prevails. For several days a United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) team travelled across the country, meeting families who had recently returned after long years of displacement within Syria and beyond its borders. Here are their stories.
On 8 December 2024, the people of Syria woke to the news that marked the end of 14 long years of deadly conflict. Syrians began returning to the places they once called home. Despite the challenges, hope prevails. For several days a United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) team travelled across the country, meeting families who had recently returned after long years of displacement within Syria and beyond its borders. Here are their stories.
More than one million people live in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps, over half children, and funding cuts are forcing UNICEF to make impossible choices about life-saving services, says Orlando Bloom.
A life-long humanitarian, Matthias Schmale has borne witness to a number of seismic moments in world history. Currently United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, he is overseeing efforts to help Ukrainians prepare for a fourth winter at war.
“The longer this lasts, the more the resilience will go down, the more the psychological damage will take hold [...] There are nights where I lie in bed thinking, why can't this nightmare for civilians end?”
Ukrainians have endured four years of hellish conflict that continues to devastate civilian lives and infrastructure, leaving 36 percent of the population in need of aid. In this episode of Awake at Night, Matthias Schmale looks back on a long career of humanitarian service, reflects on the deep scars of war and explains why daily life in Kyiv can be both heaven and hell.
Hurricane Melissa struck Cuba as a Category 3 storm on 29 October, tearing across the island in six hours with powerful winds and torrential rain. It battered five eastern provinces, forced more than 735,000 people to evacuate and affected millions of others. Floodwaters swept through towns, winds damaged infrastructure, and power outages rippled across entire districts, disrupting essential services across eastern Cuba when communities most needed them. Extensive flooding in Santiago de Cuba has submerged farmland and surrounding homes, leaving stagnant water that heightens the risk of mosquito-borne and waterborne diseases in already hard-hit communities. OCHA is helping national authorities and the UN Resident Coordinator steer and organize the emergency response under the UN Plan of Action for Hurricane Melissa, which guides multi-agency support across shelter and housing, food security, health, logistics, education, and water, sanitation and hygiene.
Fatima Mohammed, 24, sits quietly beside her daughters, Hauwa and Yagana, at the stabilization centre in Mashamari, in Nigeria’s Borno State. The girls, aged two and one, are recovering from severe acute malnutrition. Their frail bodies are slowly regaining strength, thanks to the care provided at the centre, which is run by the International Rescue Committee with support from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund. Fatima’s story is common across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states, where millions of internally displaced persons face a worsening food and nutrition crisis. In May 2025, the Nigerian government and the United Nations jointly launched a US$159.3 million appeal to combat severe food insecurity and malnutrition, but just under half has been funded. Given the sharp decline in humanitarian funding, the food and nutrition commodity pipelines for WFP and UNICEF, the two leading humanitarian providers, are going to face a breakdown by the end of December 2025. Fatima’s experience is a stark reminder of the human cost of the humanitarian funding crisis.
New WFP findings reveal that deep humanitarian aid cuts threaten millions with hunger and loss of lifesaving support, putting six critical operations at highest risk.
In eastern Afghanistan’s Andalachakin village, Khair Rahman recounts the devastating late-August earthquake that destroyed his home and injured several family members. With winter approaching, he fears for their survival in harsh conditions. The 6.0 magnitude quake claimed over 2,000 lives and left thousands injured and homeless across four provinces. Many survivors are now living in makeshift shelters or sleeping under the stars. As they confront severe hunger, families like Rahman’s are faced with a dire lack of humanitarian assistance just as winter sets in, adding to their desperate situation. Learn more about WFP's work in Afghanistan.
Ugbaad Ducaale, a camel herder and mother of three in Somaliland's Awdal region, travels 20 kilometers to fetch water as local wells have dried up. She leaves one child at home and takes the others on the long journey, causing them to miss school. This is the harsh reality for millions in Somalia, where drought has intensified after yet another failed rainy season. Families already burdened by conflict and displacement now face worsening hunger. Meanwhile, the humanitarian community struggles to meet the rising needs due to global funding cuts. Here are five things to know about the crisis.
Six months after a devastating earthquake hit central Myanmar, particularly Mandalay, the area shows signs of destruction with collapsed structures and a need for recovery. The country, already facing civil war and political unrest, struggled further with the added impact of the disaster on poverty and livelihoods. In response, community groups and international partners rallied together. With support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and contributions from nations like Korea and Japan, a comprehensive plan was implemented quickly to clear debris, provide temporary shelters, and ensure access to clean water, marking a significant step in the early recovery process.
When a powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day 2024, more than 590 people lost their lives and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed. Eighteen months later, people in this rural part of central Japan are still recovering, and many still live in temporary shelters. But they are helping each other to rebuild their lives. French photographer Vincent Tremeau spent a decade documenting the dreams and hopes of children affected by crises, often travelling with OCHA staff members. In February 2025 he visited schools on the Noto Peninsula and met some of the children. Here are their stories.
Rawan, displaced by war, narrates her story of healing through UNRWA’s psychosocial support, which has aided over half a million children.
Military spending reached a record $2.7 trillion last year, undermining diplomacy and draining resources from critical areas like hunger and poverty, warns a new UN report.