Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
- The humanitarian crises in the Middle East and North Africa continue to worsen, with 181 million people, including 88 million children, facing life-threatening risks and vulnerabilities across the region.
- In 2025, UNICEF's humanitarian response will focus on strengthening internal and partner capacity to assist those affected by ongoing and emerging crises, particularly hard-to-reach and vulnerable children and communities. This includes supporting children on the move, including Afghan, Sahrawi, Sudanese and Palestinan refugees, and populations impacted by disease outbreaks and extreme climate-related events.
- To deliver gender-responsive, inclusive and equitable humanitarian aid to 13 million people, including 5 million children, UNICEF requires $153 million. This funding will support preparedness and response in Algeria, Djibouti, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Libya and Egypt. Based on updated analyses of changing contexts and risks in the Middle East, this funding will also ensure UNICEF is ready to respond to deteriorating humanitarian situations across the region.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
The Middle East and North Africa region is grappling with a convergence of crises that disproportionately affect children, particularly those in vulnerable households. As a result, millions – especially children and female-headed families – are fleeing in search of safety and stability.
The region currently hosts 15.6 million refugees and 16.2 million displaced people. Ongoing violence in the Sudan, now the world’s largest child displacement crisis, is placing significant pressure on Egypt and Libya to provide humanitarian aid to those crossing their borders. Meanwhile, the conflict in the State of Palestine, and especially in the Gaza Strip, has triggered an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with impact spilling into Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic and the broader region. Regional tensions have exacerbated existing challenges in Iraq, threatening recent development gains. Following the evacuation of 5,238 patients from the Gaza Strip to Egypt, the country is providing critical medical care to the injured and facilitating aid to the Gaza Strip. The number of Sudanese refugees registered in Egypt has increased nearly sevenfold since the conflict in the Sudan began in April 2023, with numbers expected to continue rising. Additionally, more than 180,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in Libya since the conflict started. This influx has put additional strain on the already limited resources in both Egypt and Libya. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, which hosts the largest number of refugees globally, economic challenges and sanctions are hindering the country's ability to address urgent humanitarian needs. In Algeria, an estimated 173,600 Sahrawi refugees remain in need of critical humanitarian assistance.
Climate-induced crises are exacerbating humanitarian challenges in the region, with children particularly vulnerable to health risks from adverse climate events and existing health vulnerabilities. In Djibouti, prolonged droughts have left 19 per cent of the population acutely food insecure. In Libya, flash floods in 2024, along with infrastructure damage and displacement caused by Storm Daniel in 2023, highlight the region's vulnerability to climate-related emergencies.
Continued mixed migration within and from North Africa is expected as people flee growing economic hardships, escalating conflicts, food insecurity and climate-related disasters and seek safety and better opportunities elsewhere.