Another Friday, and new reading materials brought to you by The Friday Humanitarian Scan. This week, we have a larger library and reading list; in addition to CaLP, ReliefWeb, UN News, and ICRC Law & Policy, there are new resources such as D+C (Development and Cooperation), Council on Foreign Relations and Devex. I still have challenges with SocialProtection.org due to their protection from web scrapers (I do not blame them, I use the same protection for my website – but it is a struggle). I will continue with my experimentation to increase the number of quality resources. Happy reading!
Cash Assistance
| Title | Source | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| One Year on From the U.S. Government Cuts – What’s next for Cash? | CaLP Network | If you are a humanitarian, this date is likely burned into your mind as the start of a spiral of months into confusion and chaos. That is the day USAID partners began receiving stop-work orders on all US government-funded programmes. | 2026-01-26 |
| Cash Terminology: A Double-Edged Sword in Humanitarian Aid | CaLP Network | In this blog two CVA experts delve into the pros and cons of standardizing the CVA lexicon. It explores how to get back to centering ourselves in the purpose of CVA – as clarity across audiences is more urgent now than ever. | 2026-01-27 |
Development
| Title | Source | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| USIP lawyers warn Trump administration’s 10-year deal breaks court orders | Devex | The warning came amidst reports that hundreds of State Department staff may be moving into the U.S. Institute of Peace building, which is largely expected to house Trump’s Board of Peace. | 2026-01-29 |
| USAID bars its own experts from agency closeout jobs | Devex | “The investment in training new contract staff ensures that the final closeout of taxpayer-funded obligations is handled by a team with no prior experience in the matters being settled,” reads an internal memo obtained by Devex. | 2026-01-29 |
| Inside Africa’s high stakes push for mineral sovereignty | Devex | As African nations move to ban raw mineral exports, the success of their industrial ambitions hinges on regional coordination and massive energy investments. | 2026-01-29 |
| US amps up aid restrictions, and those left behind in era of self-interest | Devex | For the latest episode of our podcast series, Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with Managing Editor Anna Gawel and Global Development Reporter Jesse Chase-Lubitz to discuss the top global development stories of the week. | 2026-01-29 |
| Africa has bold cervical cancer plans. Now we must deliver them | Devex | Opinion: Governments across the continent have embraced elimination targets. But without community-level implementation, those commitments will not save lives. | 2026-01-29 |
| Devex CheckUp: What you need to know about the expanded global gag rule | Devex | The White House announces new funding rules that tie aid to abortion, gender ideology, and DEI bans. Plus, the world mourns the death of health giant William Foege, and the next steps for the “Accra Reset.” | 2026-01-29 |
| Uganda: Jobs and Livelihoods Integrated Response Plan – End Term Evaluation Report | ReliefWeb | Country: Uganda Sources: Government of Uganda, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. The Jobs and Livelihoods Integrated Response Plan (JLIRP) was launched in 2020 to enhance the socio-economic inclusion, self-reliance, and resilience of refugees and host communities in Uganda. | 2026-01-30 |
| Ministerial rhetoric sparks fears over UK aid watchdog | Devex | ICAI appears to have become a focal point in a wider debate about aid spending priorities as ministers grapple with shrinking budgets. | 2026-01-30 |
| Aligning public development finance for scale and impact | Devex | As Finance in Common, the global network of public development banks, marks five years, IDB President Ilan Goldfajn reflects on how the platform is helping IDB connect global finance with local delivery in Latin America and the Caribbean. | 2026-01-30 |
| How citizens take action for a cleaner and healthier Lagos | D+C Development and Cooperation | Urban traffic | 2026-01-30 |
| A growing appeal for authoritarian rule | D+C Development and Cooperation | South America | 2026-01-30 |
| How brave women fight back against oppression | D+C Development and Cooperation | Novel | 2026-01-30 |
| Nairobi’s floods showed why urban plans need to be made with the poor | D+C Development and Cooperation | Climate risks | 2026-01-30 |
| Why aquaculture is gaining ground among farmers in Zimbabwe | D+C Development and Cooperation | Climate change | 2026-01-30 |
| How marginalised urban communities in Africa are driving innovation | D+C Development and Cooperation | Informal settlements | 2026-01-30 |
| How Peru has progressed despite political turmoil | D+C Development and Cooperation | Peru is the South American country that has made the most progress on the SDGs in the past decade. But this development has occurred under improbable conditions: weak institutions, frequent government turnover and high levels of informality. | 2026-01-30 |
| The SDG’s core vision: an opportunity for development cooperation | D+C Development and Cooperation | The realisation of environmental protection alongside development lies at the heart of the SDGs. Refocusing on this core vision gives an opportunity, not only in development cooperation, to rethink the issue and embrace a positive vision of the future. | 2026-01-30 |
| Global development goals: progress and setbacks | D+C Development and Cooperation | The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the most comprehensive yardstick for measuring how the world is developing. They came into force 10 years ago and will remain in place until 2030. Here is their current status in facts and figures. | 2026-01-30 |
| Dreams of economic prosperity and sustainable development | D+C Development and Cooperation | Nepal and the SDGs | 2026-01-30 |
| Global environment: “You cannot always wait for everyone” | D+C Development and Cooperation | Restoring the planet’s environmental health is indispensable | 2026-01-30 |
| Culture Special: “The Woman King”: Emancipation and bloodshed | D+C Development and Cooperation | Art with a developmental connection – compiled for you by the D+C editorial team. | 2026-01-30 |
| Education: Why media literacy matters in Zimbabwe | D+C Development and Cooperation | Around the world, access to education must be made easier and its quality has to improve | 2026-01-30 |
General Humanitarian
| Title | Source | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Aid Recession: 2025’s Humanitarian Crash in Nine Charts | Council on Foreign Relations | The world faces unresolved conflicts, growing climate crises, attacks on aid workers, two famines, and diminishing political will—along with significant aid cuts. Altogether, 2025 has earned a grim new superlative: the worst humanitarian year on record. | 2026-01-23 |
| Gaza ceasefire improves aid access, but children still face deadly conditions | UN News Humanitarian | The fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is making a difference to the lives of over a million children, and improving overall access to food – but more aid still needs to enter. | 2026-01-26 |
| A new blow for UNRWA as headquarters in East Jerusalem ‘set on fire’ | UN News Humanitarian | The head of embattled UN relief agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, has condemned reports that its headquarters in East Jerusalem have been set alight deliberately. | 2026-01-26 |
| World News in Brief: UN Support Office in Haiti, Goodwill Ambassador Theo James in Syria, urgent appeal for millions in DR Congo | UN News Humanitarian | The Security Council-endorsed UN Support Office in Haiti is on track to deliver on behalf of the Haitian people, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Wednesday. | 2026-01-28 |
| Security Council LIVE: Ambassadors debate as Middle East crises mount | UN News Humanitarian | The UN Security Council held a high-level open debate on the Middle East on Wednesday focusing on the Gaza peace plan – including the role of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace – the continuing humanitarian crisis in the enclave and turmoil in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, following the demolition of UNRWA’s headquarters there. | 2026-01-28 |
| Bridging IHL and WPS: untapped potential to advance the wellbeing of women in conflict settings | ICRC Law & Policy | The International Criminal Court recently issued its first conviction for gender persecution as a crime against humanity, alongside related convictions for rape as a war crime under international humanitarian law (IHL). These convictions signal expanding efforts to hold perpetrators accountable for violations committed during conflict, including against women and girls. | 2026-01-29 |
| Beyond Tradition: Building a Protective Future for Girls in Pakistan | ReliefWeb | Country: Pakistan Source: Islamic Relief. Child marriage remains a critical challenge in Pakistan, driven by entrenched social norms, poverty, gender inequality, and limited access to education. Girls in rural and marginalized communities are disproportionately affected. | 2026-01-30 |
| Somalia: Radio Ergo Weekly Feedback Report, Issued: 30 Jan 2026 | ReliefWeb | Country: Somalia Source: Radio Ergo. Consistent with recent past weeks, most calls between 22-28 January 2026 to Radio Ergo’s audience feedback platform contained descriptions of the harsh drought conditions and their impact on lives and livelihoods, and appeals for aid or assistance. | 2026-01-30 |
| South Sudan Government Blocking Opposition-Held Areas from Humanitarian Access | ReliefWeb | Country: South Sudan Source: Médecins Sans Frontières. MSF denounces the restrictions on humanitarian access the government of South Sudan has imposed exclusively in parts of the opposition-held areas of Jonglei State. These restrictions limit MSF’s ability to deliver essential medical assistance for communities. | 2026-01-30 |
| Mass displacement of drought-hit families in Somalia’s South West state | ReliefWeb | Country: Somalia Source: Radio Ergo (ERGO) – Families across southern Somalia’s Bay and neighbouring regions have exhausted their coping mechanisms after consecutive dry seasons, with thousands forced to abandon rural villages and move into displacement camps, especially near Baidoa. | 2026-01-30 |
| Ukraine Crisis Response Situation | December 2025 Fact Sheet | ReliefWeb | Countries: Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Romania Source: World Vision. World Vision started working in Ukraine in March 2022 through 6 and now 3 active offices in Ukraine (Kyiv, Dnipro, Mykolaiv), which currently support aid efforts reaching conflict-affected people. | 2026-01-30 |
| Mozambique: 2026 Flood Humanitarian Response | ReliefWeb | Country: Mozambique Source: UN OCHA. Since mid-December, severe and persistent flooding has affected large parts of the country, particularly in the southern and central regions. Rivers have overflowed, communities have been displaced, and homes, schools, health facilities, water systems, and roads have been damaged or destroyed. | 2026-01-30 |
| Rapid Flood Response Funding: Malawi and Mozambique secure over USD22.3 million within seven days | ReliefWeb | Countries: Malawi, Mozambique Source: African Risk Capacity. The Regional Emergency Preparedness and Access to Inclusive Recovery (REPAIR) Program has disbursed over USD22.3 million within seven business days to support urgent national flood response operations. | 2026-01-30 |
| EU allocates €63 million in response to the crisis in Myanmar and its impact on neighbouring countries | ReliefWeb | Countries: Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Source: European Commission. The European Commission has allocated €63 million in humanitarian aid to help populations affected by the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, as well as to support Rohingya refugees living in neighbouring countries. | 2026-01-30 |
| Nepal: Rapid gender analysis drought response 2025 | ReliefWeb | Country: Nepal Source: People in Need. On 10 July 2025, the Chief Minister of Madhesh Province officially declared the province drought-affected. A Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) was conducted to examine the gendered impacts of drought in the districts of Mahottari, Sarlahi, and Siraha in Nepal. | 2026-01-30 |
| Iraq Security and Humanitarian Monitor, Monitoring the Crisis (ISHM): January 22 – 29, 2026 | ReliefWeb | Country: Iraq Source: Enabling Peace in Iraq Center. Key Takeaways: POLITICS: Trump Bluntly Warns Iraqi Politicians Against Supporting Another Maliki-Led Government – On January 24, the Coordination Framework (CF) nominated former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as its candidate for prime minister. | 2026-01-30 |
| World: GSK to support the END Fund in drive to eliminate neglected tropical diseases | ReliefWeb | Country: World Source: The END Fund. The END Fund today announced a new initiative backed by GSK, to work together to accelerate progress towards the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Through this commitment, GSK joins the END Fund’s global community working to deliver the WHO’s 2030 roadmap goals for NTD elimination. | 2026-01-30 |
| WFP calls for safe humanitarian access as conflict escalates in South Sudan’s Jonglei State | ReliefWeb | Country: South Sudan Source: World Food Programme. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is today calling on all parties to the conflict to urgently halt military operations, de-escalate the situation, and allow safe humanitarian access to deliver life-saving food assistance to hundreds of thousands of people. | 2026-01-30 |
| Ukraine Situation – Moldova: 2026 Programme Summary for Moldova | ReliefWeb | Countries: Moldova, Ukraine Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Four years after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, protection needs remain severe both inside Ukraine and among refugees across Europe, including in the Republic of Moldova. As of December 2025, around 148,000 Ukrainian refugees were living in Moldova. | 2026-01-30 |
| UNHCR Bosnia and Herzegovina monthly Report – December 2025 | ReliefWeb | Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The authorities reported 1,392 irregular arrivals in December, a figure that is broadly stable compared with the previous month. Top three declared countries of origin are Afghanistan (29%), Egypt (15%) and Sudan (13%). | 2026-01-30 |
If you missed previous The Friday Humanitarian Scan posts, here they are:
The Friday Humanitarian Scan #2
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