On December 16, 2025, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) released its annual Emergency Watchlist, and, for the third consecutive year, Sudan has been named the world’s most urgent and likely-to-worsen humanitarian disaster region. This grim distinction is not new for the Northeast African country, but the scale and depth of its crisis have reached unprecedented levels, according to the IRC and multiple international news outlets. The list, which features 20 countries and regions at greatest risk of new or worsening humanitarian emergencies in 2026, paints a stark portrait of a world where disorder is on the rise, and the most vulnerable are left with shrinking hope.
Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict, which erupted in April 2023, has become emblematic of what IRC CEO David Miliband calls “the largest humanitarian crisis ever recorded.” In a statement published by the IRC and echoed in coverage from Al Jazeera and the Associated Press, Miliband did not mince words: “What we are seeing on the ground is not an accident. The world is not just failing to respond to the crisis, but certain actions and words are creating, prolonging, and even rewarding this crisis.”
The war in Sudan began as a power struggle between the country’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), both vying for control during a fragile transition from military to civilian rule. What started as a political standoff quickly spiraled into a nationwide catastrophe. According to the IRC’s report, more than 12 million Sudanese have been forced from their homes, making it the largest displacement crisis globally. The violence has been brutal—tens of thousands have been killed, with some estimates cited by Al Jazeera and the IRC reaching 150,000. Humanitarian workers face immense challenges in delivering aid, as many refugees have suffered sexual violence, robbery, or the loss of loved ones during their desperate escapes.
Sudan’s crisis is not occurring in isolation. The IRC’s Watchlist highlights a growing “new world disorder” marked by intensifying geopolitical rivalries, shifting alliances, and transactional deal-making. This global disorder, the IRC warns, has led to a cascade of crises and a dangerous erosion of support for the world’s most vulnerable. “Disorder begets disorder,” Miliband said. “This year’s Watchlist is a testament to misery but also a warning: without urgent action from those with power to make a difference, 2026 risks becoming the most dangerous year yet.”
One of the most troubling trends identified in the IRC’s report is the increasing paralysis at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The report points to a “surge of vetoes” that has stymied international responses in both Sudan and Palestine. Russia has regularly blocked attempts to broker a ceasefire in Sudan, while the United States repeatedly vetoed resolutions calling for a truce in Gaza before eventually supporting a peace plan with regional backing. As a result, millions are left suffering, with little hope for immediate relief.
The scale of need is staggering. Sudan alone now has 33 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, and 207,000 are facing catastrophic food shortages, according to the IRC and Al Jazeera. The report further notes that 117 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, and 40 million face life-threatening levels of severe hunger. Yet, paradoxically, funding for humanitarian aid has shrunk by 50 percent, leaving responders unable to keep up with the mounting needs. The funding gap, described by the IRC as “dangerous,” threatens to deepen suffering and destabilize already fragile regions.
The IRC Watchlist includes not only Sudan and Palestine—both topping the list for the third year running—but also South Sudan, Ethiopia, Haiti, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. These 20 countries collectively represent just 12 percent of the world’s population but account for a staggering 89 percent of the nearly 300 million people globally who require humanitarian aid. What’s more, the IRC projects that these countries will host more than half of the world’s extreme poor by 2029.
“Large quantities of gold flow out of the country, while weapons move in the opposite direction,” the IRC report observes of Sudan, pointing to the role of “regional backers” in perpetuating the conflict. While the report stops short of naming these actors directly, the United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of supporting the RSF—a claim the UAE denies. The flow of arms and resources fuels the war, even as ordinary Sudanese suffer the consequences.
The human toll is immense. In El Fasher, a city in Sudan’s Darfur region, reports from the IRC and the Red Cross warn of massacres and atrocities, including an RSF raid on a maternity hospital that left 460 dead and corpses littering the streets. Many civilians have found themselves trapped in besieged areas, cut off from food, water, and medical care. Aid organizations are struggling to reach those in need, with access hampered by ongoing violence and bureaucratic obstacles.
The situation is similarly dire in Palestine, which ranks second on the IRC Watchlist. The ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 70,000 people and created what the IRC calls a “humanitarian catastrophe.” As of late 2025, 641,000 people in Gaza were experiencing famine or catastrophic food insecurity. The report highlights the “tight restrictions and militarized delivery” of aid, referring to Israel’s severe limitations on supplies entering the enclave. Attacks on schools, hospitals, and other essential infrastructure have made the past year the deadliest for humanitarian workers in Gaza, according to the IRC.
Despite the bleak outlook, the IRC’s report is not without a call to action. It warns that “if the international community continues to be slow to respond, these crises will not only be difficult to alleviate but could also worsen in a short period of time.” The IRC urges governments, donors, and international organizations to step up, warning that the price of inaction is measured in human lives and shattered communities.
What’s driving this new era of global disorder? The IRC points to a breakdown of the post-World War II rules-based order, replaced by transactional politics and geopolitical rivalries that leave humanitarian concerns on the back burner. The result is a world where the needs of the most vulnerable are too often ignored, and where impunity reigns “on a dangerous scale.”
For Sudan, Palestine, and the other countries on the IRC’s Watchlist, the stakes could not be higher. The crises they face are not only humanitarian but existential, threatening the very fabric of their societies. As 2026 approaches, the world stands at a crossroads: respond decisively, or risk a cascade of suffering that could define the decade ahead.
