The Friday Humanitarian Scan #41

The war in Yemen has disrupted access to education and many other public services. According to the UN's 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, around 3.2 million children in Yemen are not attending school.

In Gaza, Palestine, Israel continues to systematically destroy the conditions people need to survive.

Intense fighting in Yemen has forced more than 184,000 people from their homes since the start of August, most of them since early September, the UN migration agency (IOM) said on Monday.

Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, MSF International President, urges the World Medical Association to call for the release of detained Palestinian doctors.

Sixty-nine Palestinians – more than half of them children – were displaced on Tuesday after Israeli authorities green lit the demolition of their residential building in the At Tur area of East Jerusalem, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) has reported.

UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East | occupied Palestinian territory – **Highlights** The Gaza Strip – Over 106,000 children attended in-person learning in UNRWA Temporary Learning Spaces (TLS) during the first weeks of the 2026/2027 school year, marking an important milestone in efforts to expand access to learning across the Gaza Strip. At the same time, demand for in-person learning continues to outpace available capacity, and efforts are ongoing to identify add

Physicians for Human Rights | occupied Palestinian territory – A year ago, on October 10, 2025, a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip was announced. For a moment, we at PHRI had a glimpse of hope that this would bring relief and rehabilitation to Palestinians and allow the recovery and reconstruction of the decimated healthcare system. The analysis we're releasing today exposes Israel's continued prevention of any meaningful recovery of Gaza's healthcare system. In July 2025, PHRI concluded th

Human Rights Watch | World | occupied Palestinian territory – On World Mental Health Day, Ensure Inclusive Mental Health Support As armed conflicts proliferate around the globe, [World Mental Health Day](https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-mental-health-day/2026) is a reminder that the psychological toll stemming from hostilities result in mental health harms that have lasting effects on people's lives. Insecurity, trauma, anxiety, and confusion are the norm for many who have endured armed confl

Protection Cluster | occupied Palestinian territory – **Protection Developments – Escalating Settler Violence and Displacement** Between June and August 2026, the operating environment in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, deteriorated further amid a worsening security situation and additional measures by Israeli authorities that constrained humanitarian access and operations. During the reporting period, OHCHR verified the killing of 27 Palestinians in the West Bank, including eight boys.

One year into the US-backed truce in the enclave, Israeli forces have kept up a relentless military campaign

A fresh wave of Russian attacks in the south-western city of Odesa has cut off ports and prevented the export of grain

Fear by member states of massive food exports by Kyiv leads to curbs on access to agricultural markets

Moscow's latest overnight air attack targets residential buildings and energy infrastructure across Ukraine

UN Development Programme | Ukraine – **Executive Summary** **Context and Purpose** Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in 2022, large parts of the country – particularly in the south – experienced extensive destruction, widespread contamination from explosive remnants of war, and the displacement of millions of people. Even in areas where active hostilities had subsided, the legacy of war remained deeply embedded in the landscape: damaged houses, destroyed infr

REACH Initiative | Moldova | Ukraine – **2. Rationale** **2.1 Background** Over four years have elapsed since the escalation of the military offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, leading to a protracted situation of displacement for nearly 5.8 million refugees from Ukraine recorded globally. According to data published by the General Inspectorate for Migration, as of 3 August 2026, 55,478 people were benefiting from temporary protection in the Republic of Moldova, of whom 47,640 had submitted r

At least 30 die after aerial strike hits two passenger buses in frontline city of Kramatorsk

German government pressured on WFP and Palantir, WFP's hacked data registration app wins an award, and what's going on at the FAO?

Thousands of asylum seekers and migrants remain in limbo in Mexican border cities as support networks wear thin.

This is the second day in Greece for the group of 40 Romanian firefighters, sent to work alongside their Greek colleagues in the framework of a European programme called prepositioning. The programme has gone from 236 firefighters in 2022, to almost 800 in the summer of 2026.

American security push aims to spur Asian refining as diesel shortages stoke inflation

In Bangladesh's southernmost district of Cox's Bazar, more than 1 million Rohingya refugees live in overcrowded camps. Here, falling ill can quickly become a serious concern, and timely access to health care can prevent a manageable condition from becoming more severe.

As Eritrean forces advance in Tigray, all-out war with Ethiopia seems almost inevitable

MSF teams are providing care to people affected by the recent escalation of fighting in the south of Yemen.

In Butembo, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, MSF teams are supporting the health authorities in responding to the Ebola disease outbreak.

In 2024 and 2025, Sudan endured the deadliest cholera outbreak in its modern history. Dr Micaela Serafini, President of MSF in Switzerland, reflects on the lessons learned from the outbreak.

More than 700,000 displaced people in Tawila, in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region, face severe shortages of healthcare, food, water and protection, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday as it called for an urgent increase in resources.

At Devex Impact House @ UNGA81, leaders from Kenya's Ministry of Health and Pfizer explored what it takes to turn access to medicines into access for patients.

Opinion: The global health architecture is evolving. Delivering impact requires strong health systems, effective partnerships, and country-led action to help communities benefit from scientific breakthroughs.

Ahead of the Torino Global Skills Summit 2026, on 23-25 November, Pilvi Torsti, Director of the European Training Foundation (ETF), reflects on the role of international cooperation in addressing today's skills challenges and why skills policy can no longer be tackled country by country.

Sherif Arafa's work focuses on freedom, resistance and mental health. Two of his artworks are featured in the D+C October issue.

For the latest edition of our podcast series, Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Adva Saldinger and Andrew Green to discuss the top global development stories of the week.

Opinion: Burden sharing is key to designing international assistance – to advance clear national interests, mobilize others, deliver measurable results, and help partner countries become self-reliant.

Labour

Devex sits down with global development leaders to identify the practices that are holding the sector back.

This paper documents how foreign firms, inputs, and subsidies have shaped the development of Viet Nam's solar panel industry. The analysis uses firmto-firm transaction data from Panjiva as well as …

Climate change

Renee Laverdiere of Boston Consulting Group joins Devex's Raj Kumar for a special podcast on bridging the AI impact gap through workforce reskilling, data governance, and organizational transformation in global development.