November 6, 2026 The Friday Humanitarian Scan

The Friday Humanitarian Scan #45

The UN has cut more than 13,000 jobs. Most of them were held by local staff.

An analysis of UN data cited by Devex finds the cuts hit junior local roles hardest, such as assistants, drivers, clerks and national officers.

In the field, this is very visible to us. How projects will run as planned if the cuts fall mostly on local staff? Most of my UN-staff colleagues mention that they have been assigned additional roles. This is affecting National and Local NGOs, too. When it comes to local NGOs, the budget for hiring project staff is already very limited and further being reduced in UN and INGO contracted projects. We are constantly being challenged to reduce the project staff costs. I understand and back the idea of “doing more with less”, but disproportionate cuts do not help us, especially when we have to deliver with certain and must-have quality and reach.

What do you think?

This week’s Friday Humanitarian Scan: 50 articles, 14 sources

  • Norway, 2025’s most generous donor, may be weighing aid cuts (Devex)
  • South Sudan: funding cuts leave 150,000 displaced people at risk of disease in Bentiu and Malakal (MSF)
  • IOM documented 4,414 child migrant deaths from 2014 to 2025 and says the real number is higher

Friday Humanitarian ScanWeek 45 · 2026

31 October – 6 November 2026

50 articles from 14 sources

Middle East

7 articles Top ↑

  1. 03Tue

    Trump says US will end military aid to Israel by end of the year

    FT – Middle East & North Africa

    President makes surprise announcement to halt $4bn annual funding, which has featured prominently in midterm campaigning

  2. Requiem for Gaza – a haunting, essential portrait in words and pictures

    FT – Middle East & North Africa

    Reporter Chris Hedges and cartoonist Joe Sacco document the lives of displaced Palestinian families in a hybrid work of text and comic-strip accounts

  3. Middle East Dispatch newsletter: How Palestinians voted in Israel's election

    The Economist – MENA

    Nicolas Pelham, our Middle East correspondent, looks at the Palestinians choosing participation over confrontation

  4. 05Thu

    Israel must release MSF surgeon after two years of arbitrary detention

    MSF all

    MSF calls for the immediate and unconditional release Dr Mohammed Obeid, who remains detained by Israel without any charges.

  5. America's allies oppose more war in Iran. They may not get a say

    The Economist – MENA

    Economies are shrinking and a deal remains elusive

  6. 06Fri

    European Union Supports critical humanitarian air service in Yemen

    ReliefWeb · World Food Programme

    ADEN, YEMEN – A contribution of EUR 3.1 million from the European Union (EU) through its Humanitarian Aid Operations helped the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), managed by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)…

  7. Map of Syrian Refugee Population in Lebanon – October 2026

    ReliefWeb · UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Nepal Flood

1 article Top ↑

  1. 06Fri

    IOM Nepal Flood Response Situation Report #8 | 5 November 2026

    ReliefWeb · International Organization for Migration

    SITUATION OVERVIEW Two months after the 26 August flash floods in central Nepal, displacement and damage to homes, infrastructure and essential services continue to drive humanitarian and recovery needs. Access constraints remain a…

Ukraine

5 articles Top ↑

  1. 02Mon

    Ukraine: WFP provides hot meals to Oleshky evacuees as UN pushes to restore power before winter

    UN News Humanitarian

    The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is providing emergency food assistance to more than 400 people who were able to leave the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, in Ukraine's Kherson region, during a brief local ceasefire.

  2. 03Tue

    Air raid alerts and attacks on schools: the devastating face of education in Ukraine

    UN News Humanitarian

    Ukraine has sustained almost 2,000 attacks on education since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, with some 270 this year alone, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday, a day after a strike at a school being used to…

  3. US to hold first talks with Russia and Ukraine since February

    FT – War in Ukraine

    US, UK, EU and Nato officials to meet in Brussels this week ahead of Abu Dhabi discussions

  4. Russia unleashes massive attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure

    FT – War in Ukraine

    Power plants and substations hit in nine regions as Ukraine's air force struggles to intercept missiles and drones

  5. Ukraine: MSF evacuates patients from hospital damaged in Russian attack on Dnipro

    MSF all

    On 3 November, Russian forces attacked Dnipro, damaging a local hospital and forcing the evacuation of patients to other medical facilities.

Humanitarian

12 articles Top ↑

  1. 02Mon

    DRC: Restrictive measures obstruct care for sexual violence survivors in North Kivu

    MSF all

    The de facto authorities in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, have been imposing harmful restrictions related to seeking care for sexual violence for months.

  2. 03Tue

    International aid must not capitulate to Colombia's new militarised reality

    The New Humanitarian

    Emergency aid is not enough. We must empower local Colombian communities to lead their own violence prevention and societal transformation.

  3. 'This is not about politics. This is about people': UN warns of impact of deadly drone strikes in Sudan

    UN News Humanitarian

    Intensifying drone attacks on civilian infrastructure across Sudan are disrupting electricity, water and fuel supplies, putting lives at risk and hampering the delivery of humanitarian aid, the UN's top official in the country has warned.

  4. 04Wed

    The Decolonise How? Digest | Facing up to the past, caring for the future

    The New Humanitarian

    Regrets without justice, and humanitarians practising what they preach.

  5. South Sudan: Funding cuts leave 150,000 displaced people at risk of diseases in Bentiu and Malakal

    MSF all

    Funding cuts are weakening essential healthcare and water and sanitation services in Bentiu and Malakal displacement camps in South Sudan.

  6. 05Thu

    Aid suspension: who carries the burden?

    Humanitarian Practice Network

  7. Inklings | A closer look at WFP chief Luke Lindberg's CV

    The New Humanitarian

    Luke Lindberg begins his Nobel Peace Prize quest, a meteoric rise told through a CV, and can you smell what America First is cooking?

  8. Can a veteran defender of the UAE's record lead the UN?

    FT – Middle East & North Africa

    Lana Nusseibeh insists she would be independent of Abu Dhabi but critics say her career as an Emirati diplomat makes her unfit to be secretary-general

  9. Is the world's most generous donor stepping back on aid?

    Devex

    Last year, Norway spent more than 1% of its GNI on aid, making it the most generous donor of 2025. But is even this development powerhouse considering cuts?

  10. EU courts private sector to plug humanitarian funding gaps

    Devex

    Commissioner Hadja Lahbib is launching the InvestFrontier portfolio to bring humanitarian organizations, investors, banks, and philanthropies together to scale new financing models, as the EU seeks to protect humanitarian funding in its…

  11. 06Fri

    Documenting The Deaths of Child Migrants

    ReliefWeb · International Organization for Migration

    INTRODUCTION Every year, countless children die along perilous migration routes, yet the scale of these tragedies remains uncertain. Since 2014, IOM's Missing Migrants Project has documented 4,414 child migrant deaths globally-a figure…

  12. Turkish Red Crescent Pakistan – Livelihood Assistance (17 September 2026)

    ReliefWeb · Turkish Red Crescent Society

    A Project by Turkish Red Crescent Pakistan Delegation

CVA

1 article Top ↑

  1. 03Tue

    South Sudan floods: a farmer's struggle to rebuild with cash assistance

    EU Humanitarian Aid

    From mid to late 2025, around 1,200 families in Baliet County received cash assistance through DanChurchAid and the local partner Nile Hope, with support from the EU.

Localization

2 articles Top ↑

  1. 03Tue

    How humanitarian actors can help local knowledge get found

    Humanitarian Practice Network

  2. 05Thu

    UN has cut more than 13,000 jobs, most of them held by local staff

    Devex

    Layoffs across the organization in recent years hit some positions harder than others.

Health

5 articles Top ↑

  1. 04Wed

    Sudan: Routine immunisation must be restored in Darfur

    MSF all

    Disruptions in routine immunisation are causing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in Darfur, Sudan.

  2. Report: Vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks in Darfur

    MSF all

    MSF's latest report describes the effects of barriers to routine immunisation during the ongoing war in Sudan.

  3. The latest Ebola outbreak could be the worst ever

    The Economist – MENA

    New cases in Kenya and Nigeria show that the outbreak is unchecked

  4. 05Thu

    Devex CheckUp: Germany shifts into the driver's seat on global health

    Devex

    Will the Democratic wave deliver more global health funds? Plus, why is climate change data gender neutral?

  5. Africa Ready: Rebuilding sovereignty in Africa's new health era

    Devex

    How can sustainable, African-led health infrastructure be financed and governed to ensure long-term global health security? On the sidelines of UNGA81, the Africa CDC's Dr. Jean Kaseya explains.

Social Protection

3 articles Top ↑

  1. 02Mon

    Population Thresholds and Classification Stability: Evidence from the World Bank's Small States Classification Rule

    WorldBank

    The World Bank uses a population threshold of 1.5 million as the operational reference point for its Small States classification, with implications across several financing frameworks. This paper asks …

  2. 05Thu

    The Ocean Economy at a Glance

    OECD Policy papers and briefs

    The ocean economy reached an unprecedented USD 3.5 trillion in 2025, underpinning prosperity, jobs and development opportunities across the world. At the same time, increasing pressures on marine …

  3. OECD Digital Economy and Society Outlook 2026

    OECD Policy papers and briefs

    From rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) compute that are reshaping the technology frontier to screen-time dynamics that are affecting the academic performance of children, digital …

Development

6 articles Top ↑

  1. 01Sun

    Updated EU rules on social security coordination enter into force

    EU Employment & Social Affairs

    The revised rules mark an important step towards fairer labour mobility and stronger protection of people's social security rights when they live, work, retire or look for a job in another EU country.

  2. 04Wed

    Fighting drugs with smart development policy

    D+C Development and Cooperation

  3. 05Thu

    Commission launches strategy to strengthen vocational skills across Europe

    EU Employment & Social Affairs

    The European Commission adopted the European VET strategy as part of the Education and Skills package. Through the strategy, the EU will better support EU countries in modernising their VET systems.

  4. How social dialogue can help prevent, prepare for and respond to crises

    EU Employment & Social Affairs

    At the 2026 Civil Protection Forum, employers and trade unions discussed how social dialogue can help prevent, prepare for and respond to crises.Social partners discuss strengthening preparedness at the Civil Protection Forum.

  5. 06Fri

    FAO Food Price Index edges down in October amid subdued demand

    ReliefWeb · Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

    *Prices for cereals, dairy and meat ease, while sugar prices rise for a fourth consecutive month* Rome – The benchmark measure of world food commodity prices edged lower in October, as weaker import demand contributed to month-on-month…

  6. Drugs, despair, dependency

    D+C Development and Cooperation

    Khat exports are worth around $ 100 million a year to Kenya. Farmers and traders hope that their economic and political clout will finally reopen the long-closed border with Somalia permanently.

Climate

6 articles Top ↑

  1. 03Tue

    "The mood is extremely tense"

    D+C Development and Cooperation

  2. 05Thu

    Why philanthropy needs to fund the prep work for cities' climate finance

    Devex

    Opinion: As extreme climate risks intensify, cities need adaptation finance. Philanthropy can back local governments to unlock larger investment to build resilience.

  3. Australia's COP31 negotiations chief on the crowded climate agenda

    Devex

    With Turkey running the Action Agenda and Australia leading negotiations, the latter country's Sally Box previews an "intense week" of procedural battles over finance and implementation.

  4. 06Fri

    AFRICA HUMANITARIAN OVERVIEW 2026 Mid-Year Report

    ReliefWeb · UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

    – Conflict and insecurity across Africa are intensifying humanitarian needs, with evolving warfare tactics, including drone use, contributing to rising civilian casualties. – Nearly 90 aid workers were affected by violence in Africa, with…

  5. Hurricane Melissa: One Year Later

    ReliefWeb · Direct Relief

    Direct Relief has delivered $41 million in requested medicines and medical supplies and $1.3 million in direct financial assistance to local healthcare partners serving areas affected by the hurricane, including Jamaica, Haiti, and the…

  6. IEA chief predicts climate action comeback ahead of COP31 summit

    FT – Middle East & North Africa

    Also in this newsletter: Nato launches online marketplace to speed up anti-drone purchases

Artifical Intelligence (AI)

2 articles Top ↑

  1. 03Tue

    Hackers are exploiting Africa's digital identities

    The Economist – MENA

    Governments are embracing new databases. So are criminals

  2. 05Thu

    AI adoption accelerates across the OECD, but major gaps persist among businesses and generations

    OECD Policy papers and briefs

    AI adoption is accelerating across OECD economies, but significant gaps among businesses and generations risk limiting the benefits of digital transformation. Only around 12% of firms combine the use …

In case you missed early editions of Friday Humanitarian Scan, here they are:

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