Humanitarian Action at a Crossroads As Crises Escalate and Funding Shrinks
The world stands at a humanitarian crossroads. As global humanitarian need reaches historic highs and funding for aid plummets, World Vision warns of a critical turning point for the world’s most vulnerable children.
The latest Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) paints a concerning picture: one in five children worldwide are living in or fleeing conflict zones, while 239 million people need humanitarian assistance. Yet the response is faltering. By late November, humanitarian funding had reached just USD 12 billion—the lowest level in ten years. Factoring in inflation, the shortfall is even starker, eroding the real value of aid and constraining the ability to respond to escalating crises.
World Vision’s FY25 Global Disaster Management Overview, Standing Strong for Children: Delivering Hope and Humanity in a Time of Growing Need, reveals the organisation reached nearly 36 million people—including 18.6 million children—across 70 countries, in some of the world’s most fragile contexts, despite what it calls “the most turbulent period for humanitarian action in decades.”
“Humanitarian work is under unprecedented pressure. Armed conflict, climate shocks, and displacement are intensifying, while funding gaps are forcing painful choices. Further cuts could leave millions at risk, especially children facing acute food insecurity and displacement,” said Isabel Gomes, Global Lead for Disaster Management at World Vision International. “Yet our commitment to children and communities on the frontlines of crisis remains unshaken.”
Funding Gaps and Hard Choices
The GHO snapshot underscores a widening gap between needs and resources. Humanitarian funding has declined year-on-year, forcing agencies to make painful choices about who receives life-saving support. In 2025, the final safety nets vanished for millions. Health clinics shut their doors, food aid was slashed, nutrition programmes disappeared, protection services fell silent, cash assistance dried up, water deliveries stopped, and shelters were left to crumble.
Amid a challenging donor landscape and entrenched conflicts, World Vision’s deep local roots, global presence, and partnerships enabled a rapid response to 104 emergencies this year. As implementers of cash and food programming, the organisation distributed USD 276 million in cash and vouchers and delivered 85% of their total food aid in fragile settings. Some of World Vision’s largest and fastest-growing humanitarian operations are in countries like Sudan, Chad, the DRC, Lebanon, and Myanmar, which face unparalleled severity of needs and are among the hardest-hit, with millions displaced and in desperate need of support.
The organisation continues to deliver at scale, integrating humanitarian and development work while investing in innovation, strengthening local leadership, and reinforcing accountability—ensuring children not only survive but thrive, guided by its mission: For every child, life in all its fullness; for every heart, the will to make it so.
Yet, the organisation warns that shifting donor priorities and a narrowing focus on security threaten to erode the humanitarian principles that protect children and communities.
Driving Efficiency and Local Leadership
The organisation revamped its roster and surge systems, leveraging workforce skills and capabilities to provide over 2,700 days of technical assistance and deployment support to field teams. These efficiencies enabled World Vision to sustain impact during a year when many agencies faced mass layoffs and budget cuts.
World Vision also deepened partnerships with national actors and faith-based organisations, advancing localisation and empowering local field offices to lead responses that are trusted, inclusive, and community-driven.
Innovating for Dignity and Resilience
The report spotlights innovative approaches, such as pioneering route-based cash assistance for migrants in Latin America and piloting emoji-based scorecards to amplify children’s voices on school meals. These initiatives, World Vision says, are essential to restoring dignity and agency to those caught in crisis.
Apart from developing new Resilience Programming Guidelines and life-cycle child wellbeing models, which are setting new standards for sustainable impact, the organisation is focused on driving digital transformation in humanitarian responses.
The organisation’s digital transformation—using AI for rapid disaster analysis and real-time commodity tracking and AI-assisted translation—has driven operational efficiency and accountability, ensuring that every dollar delivers maximum impact and aid reaches those who need it most.
A Call for Solidarity
Humanitarian action is a deliberate investment in peace and a powerful affirmation of our common humanity.
"The cost of inaction is measured not just in lost lives, but in lost futures. That is why it is critical to shape the future of humanitarian action," said Gomes.
The organisation urges partners, governments, donors, and the public to work together to build a world where every child can thrive, even in the most fragile contexts.
Learn more about our humanitarian work in 2025
https://www.wvi.org/disaster-management/global-disaster-management-overview-2025
About World Vision
World Vision is a global Christian humanitarian and development organisation working to protect children and dedicated to supporting communities to overcome poverty, conflict, and injustice. With a bold vision for a hunger-free world, World Vision remains collaborative and relentlessly child-focused. The organisation’s work is rooted in principles of compassion, accountability, and partnership.
For more information, contact:
Annila Harris, Sr Advisor, Humanitarian Communications and Engagement
Email: annila_harris@wvi.org