On World Water Day 2026, East Asia stands at a critical crossroads. Climate change is transforming water, once a foundation of economic growth and social stability, into one of the region’s sharpest drivers of inequality. And this inequality is not evenly felt. It falls hardest on women and girls, children, persons with disabilities, and rural and marginalised communities whose access to safe water was already fragile. By Alexander Pandian, WASH Programmes Senior Advisor, World Vision East Asia

This reflection marks the anniversary of the Syria conflict while highlighting signs of renewed hope and change for Syrian communities. Despite ongoing needs, the progress seen in education, nutrition, and essential services signals new beginnings and resilience for the Syrian people.

World Vision Syria Response (WVSR) continues to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria, where 16.7 million people, including 7.4 million children, require assistance. In FY2025, WVSR supported over 4.2 million individuals across Syria, Jordan, and Türkiye through programs in health, education, WASH, child protection, and livelihoods.

Nokuthula S. Khumalo, Technical Director Global Humanitarian Surge, highlights that in prolonged crises like Syria, it is not organisational charts that protect children, but trust. As humanitarian systems shift under funding pressure and political change, Thula reflects on how internal instability shows up in delayed care, weakened safeguarding, and broken continuity for children. Opening offices is quick; earning staff confidence after years of uncertainty is not. Thula emphasises that listening, presence and honest communication matter more than procedural fixes when certainty is impossible. Fourteen years into the Syria crisis, if children are to experience continuity, safety, and care during humanitarian transitions, then staff stability and trust must be funded as deliberately as security, supply chains or monitoring systems. Trusted frontline teams are the backbone of safe, child-focused action.

Nexus drives impact in fragile contexts by linking aid, development, and peacebuilding to save lives, strengthen systems, and build lasting resilience.

Climate change is deepening water inequality in East Asia, hitting women and children hardest. Discover why resilient water systems are essential for a fair future.

Artwork by Harold Segura as part of the 2026 Give Your Loaves & Your Fish Campaign, part of teh Prayer & Action Against Hunger Coalition.

Famine is not a natural disaster and can be prevented. Across the world’s hunger hotspots, early warnings are clear, yet governments continue to act too late – or not at all. Conflict, blockades, and the denial of humanitarian access, not food scarcity, are driving a deepening hunger crisis, with children suffering first and longest. As aid budgets are cut, the gap between need and response is widening fast. This is a false economy: preventing famine costs far less than responding once lives are already lost. World Vision warns famine can be predicted and prevented – but only if leaders act early, protect civilians, and put children at the centre of hunger prevention.

Many families continue to struggle to rebuild their lives one year after the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on 28 March 2025. UN experts caution that reduced international attention and shrinking humanitarian funding may lead to devastating consequences for Myanmar’s already vulnerable communities. World Vision is providing life-saving relief assistance and recovery support to children and families affected by the earthquake: Through our humanitarian efforts, both immediate relief and long-term recovery, we aim to support 560,353 people, including 172,000 children. As of 18 March 2026, we have reached 581,269 people affected by the earthquake, including 194,748 children (107,016 girls and 87,732 boys).