This month, the International Rescue Committee's crisis news roundup looks at Afghanistan’s hunger crisis and harsh winter, the gang violence driving Central Americans to the U.S. border, and the humanitarian impact of four years of war in Yemen.

This month, the International Rescue Committee's crisis news roundup looks at a tenuous ceasefire in Yemen, election unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the U.S. administration's attempts to criminalize Central American asylum seekers who have the legal right to seek protection in the U.S.

This month, the International Rescue Committee's crisis news roundup looks at the looming famine threatening millions in war-torn Yemen, an asylum ban that could harm families in the caravan fleeing Central America, and the reasons why now is not the right time to return Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. 

After six years of war in Yemen, the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened a crisis that has left over half of the population hungry and nearly 4 million people internally displaced—all while the virus spreads at unprecedented levels.

The international community’s response to famine prevention is in urgent need of reform as nearly one million people face famine conditions. Six countries are at highest risk of famine: Somalia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Yemen, northeast Nigeria, and South Sudan. They host nearly 100 million people facing food insecurity – close to one-third of the global caseload. This represents a tripling in food insecurity compared to the ‘four famines’ risk in 2017. By late 2022, these states already hosted nearly one million people who were projected to slip into famine conditions and millions more on the brink, putting them at risk of starvation. Getting the global response right in these states could tip the scale away from catastrophe.