Stories

In the village of Kafr Amma in the Aleppo countryside, 10-year-old Leen has recently returned home with her family following years of displacement caused by conflict.

In 2025, a historic monsoon season, compounded by a series of typhoons and floods, left a trail of destruction across Vietnam. For families living on the edge of the climate crisis, the disaster shattered their ability to cope and recover from some of the worst floods.

Europe had its warmest summer on record, the period from June to August 2025 was the warmest ever on a global scale, with temperatures of 0.7°C above the 1991-2020 average.

In northeast Nigeria, the night has long been a source of dread for expectant mothers. In a region where insecurity and displacement have pushed healthcare out of reach, the onset of labour after sundown

As eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo battles a fast-moving Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, health workers are racing to contain the spread in a region already shaken by conflict, displacement and fragile health systems.

Across Myanmar, a silent crisis is unfolding, driven by decades of conflict, economic collapse, recurrent natural hazards and a critical lack of humanitarian access.

In early April 2025 there were widespread floods in Somalia, 6-year-old Faiza Abdi was among those affected. Before the floods, Faiza was attending first grade in her local primary school. Thanks to EU funds she is now back in school under a Mango tree.

For close to 10 years, EU humanitarian aid has been funding the San Raffaele hospital boat, a floating clinic which takes medical care to the most isolated and vulnerable communities affected by the ongoing conflict.

The first thing that struck me when I arrived in Hatay was the silence. Not the absence of people, as the streets of the city are busy again, but the quiet gaps existing where entire buildings once stood.

After years of displacement, families are slowly returning to Al-Tibni, a town in Deir-ez-Zor countryside in northeast Syria. Surrounded by dozens of villages across a wide agricultural region, Al-Tibni is home to tens of thousands of residents, many of whom have returned to rebuild their lives.

The EU is coordinating the largest and most complex UCPM operation ever in Ukraine. All 27 EU Member States, and 6 participating states, have provided in-kind assistance - millions of items, from first aid kits and shelter equipment to firefighting tools, water pumps, generators and fuel.

War and crisis forced 32‑year‑old Achuei to send her 6 children out of Sudan alone. She could only afford 6 tickets on a crowded truck heading towards safety. Instead of leaving one child behind, she stayed.

The work of a rescuer has always been a symbol of self-sacrifice. But for Ukrainian state emergency service personnel, in the time of full-scale war, it has become a daily act of heroism, marked by constant danger and unpredictable challenges.

I first came to Sudan’s Darfur region over 2 decades ago, when the world was just beginning to grasp the scale of the 1st war. I remember the dust, the long drives between settlements, the resilience of people who had already lost too much.

In 2025, nutrition supply chains were severely disrupted because of widespread funding cuts. These shortages of essential therapeutic and supplementary nutrition products severely impacted services for children already suffering from acute malnutrition.

Mali is currently facing one of the world’s most severe, least publicised, and most underfunded humanitarian crises - a situation likely to worsen in 2026.

Tymofii Bespalov is one of 5,000 Ukrainian patients transferred to hospitals in 22 countries through the European Union’s medical evacuation programme conducted under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

When the earthquake struck Myanmar in March 2025, it shattered more than buildings and roads. For families already living close to the edge, it wiped out the little they had to keep going. With EU funding, WFP provided multi-purpose cash assistance so they could keep their livelihoods afloat.

After decades spent building lives across the border, thousands of Afghans are now returning from neighbouring countries every day – many pushed out by mounting pressure, restrictive policies, and deteriorating living conditions, while others face sudden, forced deportation.