Half-way through 2026, humanitarian funding for some of the world’s most neglected displacement crises remains at rock bottom, with millions of people being abandoned as aid budgets shrink, according to a press release by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Six months into the year, only 30 per cent of the funding needed to support 143 million people out of 252 million in need of aid globally has been received. NRC warns that without a dramatic reversal, countless communities will go without assistance. The organization is urging wealthy nations to align contributions with actual need. The alert marks a critical mid-year assessment of the global humanitarian response.
In 2026, a total of 252 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 33.66 billion US dollars requested by OCHA to support 143.2 million of them. As of 24 June, 10.23 billion US dollars had been delivered, representing 30.4 per cent of what is required. The amount requested is the lowest since 2019. Of the targeted 143.2 million, 88.7 million are urgently prioritized, requiring 24 billion US dollars. So far, 9.83 billion, or 40.1 per cent, has been delivered for that group.
The drop in funding from countries in North America, Europe, and other affluent nations is hurting certain regions especially hard. The United States has provided 4,873 million US dollars in humanitarian funding so far this year, just over a third of the 14,061 million US dollars it gave in 2024. The United Kingdom gave 2,263 million US dollars in 2024, compared with 645.8 million half-way through 2026. The lowest funded humanitarian responses so far in 2026 are Yemen, Niger, Burkina Faso, Afghanistan, and Mali. Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs and response plan is only 16.9 per cent funded, while Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger stand at 15.6, 18.4, and 15 per cent respectively.
Afghanistan, which for years saw a robust humanitarian response alongside a large Western military operation, is now among the least funded, in part due to the ending of all US humanitarian support to the country. The United States had previously contributed more than 40 per cent of all aid to Afghanistan up to 2024. Today, 21.9 million Afghans require aid, and just 11 per cent of adults who have returned are fully employed.
“This year for the first time Afghanistan features on NRC’s list of the world’s most neglected crises,” said Jan Egeland, NRC’s secretary general. He warned that “donors must heed the warnings before millions more fall into hunger and desperation.”
Countries in the Central Sahel dominate the list of lowest-funded humanitarian responses, with Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali making up three of the five least funded plans in 2026. Millions face displacement, worsening protection conditions, and the loss of basic services, while development financing has also sharply declined. Egeland called on countries to allocate funding based on the level of need rather than geopolitical or nationalistic interests, commending Sweden’s needs-based approach.
“2026 must not go down in the record books as the year the world turned its back,” he said.
NRC insists it is not too late to change course for families who feel forgotten by the world.
