“Data is central to humanitarian action,” OCHA said, as aid organizations look to “focus their response to reach the communities with the most severe needs.”

In its latest report on the State of Open Humanitarian Data OCHA said that “as the humanitarian system severely contracts due to unprecedented funding cuts and threats to principled humanitarian action, the data ecosystem that supports it will experience the same pressure.”

Budget cuts threatening aid as a whole have had a devastating impact on data gathering, impeding an effective humanitarian response.

The data gathered by the United Nations and its partners covers a broad range of issues including, for example, climate hazards such as droughts, floods and storms.

Information on rainfall, temperatures, the extent of floods and the impact on agriculture during those extreme weather events can provide important indicators including the number of people expected to be affected or displaced and ultimately help to save lives.

Cameroon floods

In 2024, ahead of the rainy season in Cameroon, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) partnered with the OCHA Cameroon Office to estimate flood exposure and track it in near-real time.

The Centre predicted that about 350,000 people would be exposed to the flooding, as the season progressed, over 356,000 people were affected.

The analysis supported a timely allocation of $4 million from CERF which provided help to 176,500 affected people in the most vulnerable areas.

Humanitarian Data Exchange

In 2024, some 216 organizations shared around 2,500 data sets covering crises ranging from Afghanistan to Gaza and Sudan, information which is collected in the Humanitarian Data Exchange or HDX.

Over the last year, the HDX was consulted more than 1.4 million times by researchers in over 200 countries in territories.

Its almost 20,000 datasets were downloaded 3.5 million times – a 30 per cent increase from 2023.

The information, OCHA said, provides a “foundational set of data that is critical to understand a humanitarian context.”

Countries such as Colombia, Afghanistan and South Sudan had the highest percentage of timely data on HDX. On the other hand, Myanmar and the State of Palestine were the locations with the lowest availability level.

In light of recent aid cuts, “the year ahead promises to be challenging for data availability,” OCHA adding that it was calling on “governments and partners to continue investing in the data that underpins crisis response in what is surely a defining moment for the sector.” 

Last Sunday, a joint PRCS and UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) mission uncovered a shallow grave in Rafah. The bodies of eight PRCS paramedics, six civil defence workers, and one UN staff member were found.

They had been killed by the Israeli military while attempting to reach victims of shelling on 23 March.

“They were humanitarians. They wore emblems. They should have been protected,” the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC)’s Permanent Observer, Dylan Winder, told journalists during a briefing at UN Headquarters on Friday.

Dr. Younes al-Khatib, PRCS President, confirmed that one of the team members – now identified as Assad – is still unaccounted for.

He explained that the incident was the “single most deadly attack” against Red Cross Red Crescent workers anywhere in the world since 2017.

Investigation in progress

PRCS officials said it remains unclear whether their colleague, Assad, had been killed at the scene or taken into detention.

A video recorded from one of the PRCS ambulances appears to show Israeli tanks firing on clearly marked emergency vehicles, refuting claims that the ambulances were unidentifiable or operating without sirens.

“It’s a trap,” one responder can be heard shouting in the footage, according to PRCS Vice President Marwan Jilani.

The final words of one PRCS paramedic, captured in an audio recording found on his phone, were also shared during the briefing.

“Forgive me, mom. I just wanted to help people. I wanted to save lives,” he said, moments before he was killed. His phone was discovered with his body.

Dr. al-Khatib noted that a forensic report is being prepared and will be released in due course.

PRCS officials reiterated calls for an international, independent investigation, challenging the “narrative” put forward by the Israeli Government and demanding justice for the victims and their families.

Humanitarian operations under siege

The grim discovery comes as Gaza’s humanitarian crisis deepens, with all crossings still closed.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric warned that thousands more families have been forced to flee westward in the Gaza Strip, following new displacement orders issued by Israeli forces in parts of Gaza City.

“These displacement orders have left civilians exposed to hostilities and deprive them of access to essential services for their basic survival,” he said, citing information from OCHA.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), food parcel distributions are expected to end soon. Hot meal distributions continue but supplies are running low.

Meanwhile, sanitation conditions are worsening. OCHA reports infestations of fleas and mites in three makeshift displacement sites in Al-Mawasi, causing rashes and other health issues.

Treatment is impossible without the chemicals and medical supplies that remain blocked at closed border crossings.

UN humanitarian partners also report a spike in criminal looting and insecurity – a food distribution centre from the Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) and surrounding buildings were looted on Wednesday.

West Bank operations

In the West Bank, OCHA reports that tens of thousands of people remain displaced due to ongoing Israeli operations, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm.

Mr. Dujarric noted that humanitarian partners are providing urgent assistance and psychosocial support to affected communities, but conditions continue to deteriorate.

‘Gaza cannot be left alone’

More than 220 PRCS staff have been killed over the last 50 years, noted Dr. al-Khatib, stressing: “We are looking for action.”

The PRCS leadership made five formal appeals to the international community, including an immediate ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access and an end to impunity for attacks on aid workers.

“Gaza cannot be left alone,” Dr. al-Khatib concluded. “This is a cry to our international community.”

No aid has been allowed into Gaza since 2 March, representing the longest period of aid blockage since the start of the war, resulting in shortages of food, safe water, shelter, and medical supplies.

UNICEF said that without these essentials, malnutrition, diseases and other preventable conditions will likely surge, leading to an increase in preventable child deaths.

The agency has thousands of pallets of aid waiting to enter the enclave, said Edouard Beigbeder, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Most of this aid is lifesaving – yet instead of saving lives, it is sitting in storage,” he said.

“It must be allowed in immediately. This is not a choice or charity; it is an obligation under international law.”

Young lives at risk

UNICEF warned that children receiving malnutrition treatment are at serious risk as 21 treatment centres, representing 15 per cent of total outpatient facilities, have closed due to displacement orders or bombardments.

Furthermore, only enough ready-to-use infant formula (RUIF) is currently available for 400 children for a month. Estimates indicate that nearly 10,000 infants under six months old require supplementary feeding, which could force families to use alternatives mixed with unsafe water.

Meanwhile, UNICEF has also had to scale back mental health and psychosocial support, mine education, and child protection case management due to the ongoing hostilities and displacement.

Water access plummets

During the ceasefire, UNICEF began repairing critical wells and waterpoints, but the collapse of the truce means that many remain unrepaired or at risk of further damage.

The agency further noted that drinking water access for one million people, including 400,000 children, has dropped from 16 litres per person per day to just six.

If fuel runs out, it could plunge to below four litres, forcing families to use unsafe water and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks, especially among children.

Ensure basic needs

“For the sake of more than one million children in the Gaza Strip, we urge the Israeli authorities to ensure, at a minimum, people’s basic needs are met, in line with its obligations under international humanitarian law,” said Mr. Beigbeder.

“This includes their legal responsibility to ensure that families are supplied with the food, medical and other essential supplies they need to survive.”

Meanwhile, UNICEF and partners are maintaining a critical presence in Gaza.

The agency continues to call on the parties to cease hostilities and reinstate the ceasefire, stressing that humanitarian aid and commercial goods mut be allowed to enter and move freely across the Gaza Strip.