In 2026, humanitarian crises continue to be driven by protracted and escalating armed conflicts, political and social fragmentation, forced displacement, climate and disaster-related shocks, and the erosion of accountability and respect for international humanitarian law and human rights. The GPC 2026 Protection of Civilians Advocacy Note highlights a particularly dangerous convergence: unlawful or prohibited methods of warfare such as siege, child recruitment and conflict-related sexual violence are increasingly combined with advanced technologies, notably armed drones, creating new and multiplying risks for civilians. The growing use of drones and other technologies is changing the scale, speed and reach of attacks, while siege tactics and deliberate deprivation continue to expose civilians to hunger and displacement. Together, these trends point to a continued weakening of IHL compliance and an urgent need for stronger accountability, renewed humanitarian diplomacy, and protection-centred responses that prevent harm as well as respond to its consequences.
An estimated 351 million people were exposed to protection risks in December 2025 (a figure that has risen to 418 million by October 2026), with 139 million people in need of protection and approximately 51 million targeted for protection assistance in 2026 Humanitarian Response Plans. Across the 3,857 subnational areas assessed, 1,630 (42%) are multi-risk hotspots – showing the combination of severe or extreme level of risks. The Humanitarian Reset’s call to focus on the most urgent needs requires explicit attention to the severity and combination of protection risks. The subnational protection analysis is critical to inform prioritisation, resources and protection action, and should be strongly considered in the upcoming Humanitarian Needs and Response Plans.
This year has also seen a succession of new or sharply deteriorating emergencies. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus has become the country’s largest outbreak on record, spreading across six provinces amid insecurity, displacement and constrained access to essential services. In Venezuela and Colombia, two major earthquakes have added a sudden-onset disaster dimension to an already complex protection environment. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, renewed escalation has heightened risks for civilians and displaced populations. The protection situation in the oPt remains critical, with civilians exposed to ongoing violence and severe restrictions on access to essential services in Gaza and escalating settler violence in the West Bank. In the Sahel, the conflict in Mali has sharply deteriorated in April with a succession of major attacks, while in Sudan the fighting has increasingly concentrated on El Obeid and the wider Kordofan region, where civilians face severe risks from violence, displacement, deprivation and attacks affecting essential infrastructure.
The contraction in humanitarian financing is now directly affecting the ability of protection actors to prevent and respond to harm. The GPC’s Protection Capacities Under Pressure report, based on consultations across 22 operations, shows that funding cuts are reducing staffing, geographic scope and presence, community engagement, referrals and the ability to identify and respond to protection risks. Overall, the protection sector has received $1.3 billion against a $2.8 billion requirement in 2026. At the same time, the US has committed significant resources, including an initial US$2 billion commitment to OCHA-managed pooled funds, followed by a further US$1.8 billion in 2026. These allocations demonstrate the potential of large-scale funding to sustain life-saving action, but the GPC advocacy remains clear: funding must be adequate, flexible, predictable, and must reach protection activities and local actors beyond material assistance.
Protection matters – to the safety, rights and dignity of crisis-affected people – and it works: preventing and reducing violence, providing life-saving supports and delivering survivor-centred care. Across contexts where Protection Clusters are operational, the vital role that civilian-centred protection plays has been front and centre across response efforts in 2026 as levels of violence, displacement and deprivation accelerate while protection actors persist in working for and with communities to respond to threats, reduce vulnerabilities and grow protection capacities. Protecting these capacities, even in a moment of severe constraints, is essential to prevent harm and ensuring that humanitarian action achieves meaningful outcomes for those most at risk.