London, United Kingdom, March 19, 2026 — Responding to the publication of FCDO multi-year Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations 2026–2027 to 2028–2029, Flora Alexander, IRC UK Executive Director, said,
“Today’s ODA decisions matter enormously for people living through conflict. With humanitarian needs at record levels and crises intensifying across multiple regions, prioritising fragile and conflict-affected states and gender equality is the right approach.
As conditions deteriorate and humanitarian access tightens, the UK’s pledge of predictable, long‑term funding must provide the stability required to keep essential services functioning.The focus on innovation and unlocking new finance streams is equally important; frontline organisations need agile, flexible resources that allow them to respond quickly as conditions deteriorate.
Continued support to Sudan, Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine is welcome and critically needed. But these cannot be the only crises that count. Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan - countries identified on the IRC’s 2026 Watchlist as among the world’s most at-risk - are all facing cuts to bilateral aid. Reducing direct UK support to some of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies will have devastating consequences.
It also raises important questions about how the UK’s commitments apply in places like Afghanistan, where women and girls continue to face extremely restrictive conditions. Cutting aid, whilst simultaneously freezing study and skilled worker visas for Afghan nationals, risks sending a signal that Afghans are being forgotten.
Ultimately, we still lack a clear breakdown of where bilateral funding will be allocated. Partner governments and civil society organisations urgently need this information. The real test of these allocations will be whether they deliver sustained, meaningful impact for people living through the world’s toughest crises.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The Emergency Watchlist is the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) assessment of the 20 countries most likely to face a worsening humanitarian crisis in the coming year. The report is based on an analytically rigorous process that deploys 74 quantitative and qualitative variables, as well as qualitative insights from the IRC’s experience of working in more than 40 countries. Each year, this methodology allows the IRC to accurately identify 85-95% of the countries that then see the worst humanitarian deterioration over the following year.
This year’s Emergency Watchlist comes at an unprecedented moment. Its theme, “New World Disorder,” sounds the alarm on a dangerous divergence: as humanitarian crises are surging, the global support to address them is collapsing. The surging crises and shrinking support that IRC’s clients face are not just a humanitarian failure, but instead the direct consequence of the geopolitical trends redefining how countries interact with one another.
The New World Disorder described in this year’s report illustrates what IRC teams witness every day as they help crisis-affected people around the world to survive, recover and gain control over their future. The facts on the ground reveal a humanitarian system overwhelmed when it is needed most. Conflict is escalating dramatically, compounded by climate change and entrenched poverty, while global aid funding has collapsed. The 10 recommendations in this report offer practical and effective ways forward to protect communities in the 20 Watchlist countries from the staggering burden of this disorder and to build more sustainable, resilient systems for the future.
Available documents & links
Download this report: 2026 Emergency Watchlist
Explore key findings and recommendations: At a Glance: 2026 Emergency Watchlist