Yemen remains one of the world’s most acute and complex humanitarian crises. In 2025, protracted conflict, economic decline, and extreme weather driven by climate change have left more than 19.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
Despite the official pronouncement of a ceasefire, election of a president and formation of a reform-oriented government, the socio-economic situation in Lebanon remained fragile, and the country continued to face serious challenges, compounded by intermitted armed escalations and displacement in Q1 2025.
Syria has one of the largest numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the world (7.4 million IDPs). The UN and humanitarian partners also estimate that in 2025 over 16.5 million people in Syria need humanitarian assistance.
Since 8 December 2024, UNHCR estimates some 568,753 Syrians have crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries, including 176,186 via or from Lebanon - half of whom were transiting or temporarily returning.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with local authorities in Aden, officially broke ground today on the Al-Arish Wastewater Pumping Station—a landmark project that aims to improve sanitation services, public health, and environmental conditions in one of Yemen’s most densely populated urban areas.
This research was conducted prior to the collapse of the former Government of Syria (GoS) on 8 December 2024 and the emergence of the transitional government and thus, some security-related barriers to civil documents, such as security risks tied to the former government (including fears of mandatory service or arrest if found with civil documents issued by the former Syrian Salvation Government-SSG) no longer remain.
By 15 May 2025, around 156,000 Syrians returned to Syria from or via Lebanon. Given the significant changes in the Syria context, UNHCR, in close collaboration with the authorities, began designing programmes to support refugees who express an interest in returning, including “Go and See” visits.
As of 15 May 2025, UNHCR estimates that over half a million – 501,126 – Syrians have crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024. This brings up the total of 861,966 Syrian individuals that have returned to Syria since the beginning of 2024.
In April 2025, Shelter Cluster hubs across Yemen navigated complex challenges, including escalating displacement, recurrent evictions, and climate-related risks. Key achievements included infrastructure improvements, distributions of emergency shelter and non-food items (NFIs), and progress on transitional shelter projects.
