If 2024 was the year of polycrisis, 2025 was the year the aid architecture cracked and forced long-deferred questions into the open. As we enter 2026, those questions now demand answers.
The effective dismantling of U.S. humanitarian financing structures over the past 12 months has reshaped global aid flows. According to sectorwide tracking, humanitarian funding fell by an estimated 35% globally.
Localization has stagnated in terms of direct funding going to local groups, despite a decade of commitments to reach 25%. The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage underdelivered. AI adoption has outpaced governance. And humanitarian staff buckled under chronic overstretch.
Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).
About the author
Alemneh Tadele
Alemneh Tadele is a development and humanitarian evaluation specialist with over 20 years of experience across Africa. His work spans humanitarian protection, aid effectiveness, localization, and accountability, supporting international NGOs, U.N. agencies, and donors through evidence-based evaluations, policy analysis, and learning-oriented research in conflict- and crisis-affected contexts.
