UNHCR's annual Global Trends report recorded 117.8 million forcibly displaced people at the end of 2025, the first decline in over a decade, driven by large-scale returns to Syria, Sudan, and Afghanistan [4][22]. At the same time, the agency disclosed plans to cut its budget from $10.2 billion to $8.5 billion — a reduction of nearly one-fifth — closing offices and eliminating roughly 4,000 positions [23]. The figures arrived alongside a Human Rights Watch report documenting mass forced recruitment and detention by Rwanda-backed M23 forces in eastern DRC [11], and a diplomatic confrontation between Belgium and the United States over Ebola-related travel bans [6].

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih warned that the statistical drop conceals a grim reality. "Muchos de estos retornos no se produjeron en condiciones de seguridad y estabilidad sino bajo presión, hacia lugares donde la inseguridad persiste, las infraestructuras han quedado destruidas y los servicios básicos y las oportunidades económicas siguen siendo escasos" (Many of these returns did not occur in conditions of safety and stability but under pressure, to places where insecurity persists, infrastructure has been destroyed, and basic services and economic opportunities remain scarce), he stated [4]. He added that "los retornos que no son seguros ni voluntarios no son soluciones: pueden convertirse en el inicio de un nuevo ciclo de desplazamiento" (returns that are not safe or voluntary are not solutions: they can become the start of a new cycle of displacement) [4]. BBC Persian reported the total number of refugees and displaced people worldwide had reached over 120 million, framing it as a record [25] — a figure that reflects a different counting point or methodology than the end-2025 snapshot of 117.8 million in the UNHCR Global Trends report [24].

David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, described the decline as reflecting "misery on a historic scale — people returned to countries mired in crisis, most with no choice, while every route to safety collapsed around them" [7]. He stated that "the shock absorbers are being weakened at precisely the moment that shocks are growing" and that the figures show "diplomacy in retreat, disorder at record levels, and protections diluted" [7]. The New Humanitarian reported that USAID is gone and that other major donors including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have flagged further cuts to humanitarian staffing and aid budgets [16].

The Sahel illustrates the funding gap in concrete terms. OCHA's 2026 overview placed 24.3 million people in critical need of assistance across the region, while only 29 percent of 2025 funding requirements were met — the lowest level in a decade [1][21]. Charles Bernimolin, OCHA's regional head for West and Central Africa, stated: "Every funding gap has a human cost. When we cut a program, a child loses a meal, women and girls' protection, and a family loses hope. We cannot allow a financing collapse to become a death sentence for millions of people" [3]. He said humanitarian actors are implementing a "Humanitarian Reset" to refocus on the most urgent needs and maximize the impact of limited resources [1]. The Center for Strategic and International Studies separately reported that Sahel funding is drying up amid donor fatigue and rising needs [15]. Violent incidents in the region increased by 40 percent, with over four million internally displaced and 12 million people in food insecurity [20].

Human Rights Watch published a 78-page report documenting large-scale roundups, murder, torture, forced labor, sexual violence, and child-soldier recruitment by M23 and Rwandan Defence Force personnel at military bases in North Kivu [11]. A separate HRW report published in May documented killings, sexual violence, and abductions by the same forces [12]. French-language coverage on RFI reported that civilians were abducted from hospitals, churches, and workplaces [17]. Deutsche Welle's Swahili service reported that M23 is forcibly recruiting civilians and detaining them in poor conditions [19]. France 24 carried a bulletin summary of the findings [2]. Neither the Rwandan government nor M23 representatives were quoted in any of the sources reviewed.

The Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC has spread to 26 health zones, with nearly 600 confirmed cases and 115 deaths [8]. The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which no approved vaccine exists [5]. WHO warned that armed conflict, mass displacement, and acute food insecurity are undermining containment efforts [13], with the WHO Director-General describing a "catastrophic collision" of Ebola and war [14]. Swahili-language reporting on RFI described how M23 control of Goma has affected humanitarian access and airport operations during the Ebola response [18].

The outbreak triggered a transatlantic dispute. The United States urged European states to impose entry restrictions on travelers from central African countries; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the matter with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen [8]. Belgium, coordinating with the EU, refused. Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke stated: "Une interdiction d'entrée, personne ne propose cela en Europe" (An entry ban — no one is proposing that in Europe) [6]. He went further, saying the United States "porte une responsabilité écrasante dans ce qui se passe en Afrique, du fait qu'ils ont drastiquement réduit leur coopération au développement et leur aide médicale. Cette politique américaine aura bientôt des millions de morts sur la conscience" (bears overwhelming responsibility for what is happening in Africa because it has drastically reduced its development cooperation and medical aid. This American policy will soon have millions of deaths on its conscience) [6]. No US officials were quoted responding to the accusation in the sources reviewed.

Regional African institutions moved to coordinate their own response. CEMAC health ministers convened an urgent meeting and decided to establish a community emergency fund, implement traceability systems for suspected cases, and strengthen border health controls [9]. CEMAC Commissioner Fulgence Likassi Bokamba stated that "des dispositions sont prises pour la prévention" (measures are being taken for prevention) and for the care of suspected or confirmed cases [9].

UNHCR's South Sudan representative Matthew Brook warned of a severe displacement crisis in South Sudan, where nearly 140,000 people have been displaced in Akobo county alone and the agency has received only 25 percent of the $286 million needed for its response [10]. Salih announced a goal to halve the number of people in protracted displacement by 2035, stating that humanitarian assistance "salva vidas, pero no es el objetivo final" (saves lives, but is not the final goal) [4]. The next expected development is the release of UNHCR's revised 2026 operational plan, which will reflect the budget reductions [23].