About 64 million fewer people received humanitarian aid in 2025 as contributions fell and governments imposed tighter restrictions, according to the State of the Humanitarian System 2026 report.
The report, produced by the humanitarian organisation Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance (Alnap), says support increasingly focused only on people facing immediate danger, while longer-term recovery and specialised services were scaled back. Women, children, older people and displaced people were especially affected, co-author Jennifer Doherty said.
A narrower response to growing needs
Doherty said the combination of reduced funding and restrictive politics meant that specialised services closed and targeted support became harder to sustain. Thousands of aid workers lost their jobs during one of the humanitarian system’s biggest contractions since its formation after the second world war. Read the context: Humanitarian aid reductions deprive at least one million women and girls of vital services.
The report also describes increasing pressure from governments over how aid could be used. One example cited is a US spending freeze on programmes considered to be driven by diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Key figures
- Estimated humanitarian funding fell from $47.5bn in 2022 to $33.3bn in 2025.
- The amount targeted per aid recipient dropped from $178 in 2021 to $90 in 2025, while assessed needs rose to $255 per person.
- Up to 23% of humanitarian staffing was estimated to have been lost in 2025.
- USAID funding fell by 55% in 2025, and 13 of the 20 largest donors reduced their contributions.
Families face linked crises in Yemen
Yemen was among the countries badly affected by the cuts. Nutrition worsened and diphtheria cases rose after vaccination campaigns were suspended.
Mohammed Bahashwan, Action for Humanity’s country director in Yemen, said families could face several problems at once, including lost income, unaffordable food, a malnourished child and costly or distant access to healthcare.
Governments and local groups under pressure
The report says governments were responsible for 64% of attacks on healthcare workers and were largely responsible for violence affecting aid workers through airstrikes. It argues that states were often failing to protect civilians and, in some cases, endangering them.
Local aid organisations and diaspora networks helped mobilise assistance for people in need, but the report says the international system did not coordinate effectively with them. Local organisations and staff were also among those most affected by the funding cuts. Related coverage: Report Highlights Severe Effects of US Funding Reductions on Global HIV Programs.
Meg Sattler of Ground Truth Solutions said people surveyed by the organisation were distressed when assistance was limited to life-saving support and no longer helped with education or building livelihoods that could reduce future reliance on aid.
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