More than 252 million people worldwide required urgent humanitarian assistance by the end of May 2026, yet only around 45 million had received any form of support by April, underscoring a widening gap marked on Tuesday's World Humanitarian Day.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Equality Commissioner Hadja Lahbib issued a joint statement noting that 83 aid workers have been killed, 36 kidnapped and 98 wounded so far this year. They cited Sudan as one of the world's worst crises, with humanitarian access systematically blocked, and pointed to catastrophic suffering in Gaza and the ripple effects of Russia's war in Ukraine on food supply chains across Africa and the Middle East.
In Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross unveiled a mural with Médecins Sans Frontières and the WHO to mark the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 2286 on protecting healthcare. ICRC operations director Yasmine Praz said healthcare "is a fundamental right" that must be protected everywhere. Twelve Red Cross and Red Crescent staff were killed in violence-related incidents in the first half of 2026.