The Middle East and Eastern Europe region faces some of the world’s most complex and long-lasting humanitarian crises, driven by conflict, climate shocks, and economic decline. Despite insecurity, limited funding, and access challenges, World Vision has sustained and expanded its humanitarian response in the region for over 50 years.

This press release reports on a second deadly landslide in five weeks at an artisanal coltan mine in Rubaya, North Kivu, eastern DRC, which has killed at least 56 children and is believed to have claimed more than 200 lives in total. Issued from Goma on 4 March 2026, the statement from World Vision condemns the recurring tragedy and highlights the dangerous working conditions in informal mining sites, where poverty and lack of alternatives force families, including children, to risk their lives. The organisation stresses that coltan, a key mineral used in mobile phones and other electronics, continues to fuel conflict and armed groups in the region. It calls for urgent humanitarian access, stronger child protection measures, sustainable economic alternatives for communities, and stricter regulation of the artisanal mining sector to prevent further loss of life.

World Vision Lebanon is calling for urgent protection and support for children as expanding evacuation orders and escalating insecurity trigger a new wave of internal displacement across Lebanon. Since the first hours of the escalation, World Vision Lebanon has reached more than 57,000 people, including more than 20,000 children, with blankets, hot meals, family hygiene kits, and mattresses among other supplies. However, humanitarian needs are expected to continue rising in the coming days, with thousands of children likely to require psychosocial support and protection services.

The escalation of violence across the Middle East is placing millions of children and their families at serious risk of harm and death, warns World Vision International.

World Vision urgently calls on all parties to immediately de-escalate hostilities in the Middle East and work towards a lasting peaceful resolution.

World Vision Lebanon raises concern over renewed hostilities that have displaced more than 55,000 people. The organisation calls for civilian protection as children face heightened risks.

World Vision has been working in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) since 1994, first providing relief to a war-torn country and then working on community development. For three decades, we provided sustain able livelihoods to the disadvantaged and needy, improved quality of education, and empowered families and communities to seek access to their rights.

From Participation to Partnership: At APFSD 2026, child leaders from World VIsion programmes in 13 countries are moving beyond symbolic roles, inviting regional leaders into a shared co-design process and proposing "Innovation Labs" to bridge the gap between policy and the lived realities of their communities.

At APFSD 2026, children and regional leaders unite to close the 88% SDG progress gap. Explore how child-centred innovation and direct negotiation are shaping a resilient future for communities across the Asia-Pacific.

Discover WVI Nepal’s GEDSI progress from FY21–FY25, showcasing inclusive policies, programs, and practices for the most vulnerable communities.