Eliza, 41, sits with her 4 month old son Teny, and three other children Rauda, 7, Deng, 5, and Nyaline, 4, at the UNHCR transit centre near the Joda border point in Renk, South Sudan. With her husband staying in Khartoum, Eliza and her four children spent four days travelling from the city to the border with South Sudan.
© UNHCR/Andrew McConnell

Silent Emergencies

Refugees trapped in silent emergencies have been enduring incredible hardship for months, or even years. They need your help.

“There was nothing to do but leave. The fighting was everywhere. I packed some bags and ran with my neighbours. We stayed two days in the bush and it was so scary.”

- Eliza, 41, mother of four

While some humanitarian crises remain in the headlines, others are pushed aside to make way for the next disaster.

Millions of refugees are trapped in silent emergencies that no longer make the news. 

After almost a decade of conflict, 75 per cent of the Yemeni population needs humanitarian aid. In Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees face crisis after crisis, including floods and fires that ravage vulnerable camps. Meanwhile, in Sudan, armed conflict has forced more than seven million people to flee for their lives.

With the number of people displaced by conflict, disaster or persecution at record highs, resources are stretched far too thin. Those in silent emergencies are at greatest risk of missing out on life-saving aid. 

UNHCR responds to a new crisis every 10 days – but you don't hear about all of them. 

Please donate now to send emergency aid to refugees, wherever and whenever they're forced to flee.

“I had a son and daughter, but they both died. May they rest in peace.”

Hana lost her two children after they fell ill in a refugee camp in White Nile State. Both suffered from diarrhoea and malnutrition. The camp's population has almost doubled since the conflict began.

Hana sits on a bed in a refugee camp. She fled Khartoum, Sudan, after conflict broke out and lost her two children to health complications.
© UNHCR/Ala Kheir

SUDAN: Terrifying violence

  • Over 8 million people are displaced 
  • 54% of children are refugees
  • 25 million people will need humanitarian aid this year

Since fighting broke out in Sudan in April 2023, homes, schools and hospitals have come under attack. Health facilities are struggling to cope with a life-threatening shortage of staff and supplies. The number of unaccompanied or separated children is also rising.

YEMEN: A decade of conflict

  • 4.5 million people are displaced
  • Yemen hosts 72,000 refugees and asylum seekers
  • 21.6 million people need humanitarian aid

Yemen’s conflict has wrecked the economy. Soaring food and fuel prices are a disaster for everyday families. The health system has also crumbled. At the same time, UNHCR is the only agency protecting refugees and asylum seekers in Yemen, who are mostly from Somalia and Ethiopia. 

ROHINGYA: Refugees in limbo

  • Bangladesh hosts 972,000 Rohingya refugees 
  • 95% of refugee households rely on humanitarian aid
  • 51% of Rohingya refugees are children

The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority who have faced decades of persecution in Myanmar. Almost one million refugees now live in camps in Cox’s Bazar. Their long-term prospects are grim. Children are unable to get a formal education in Bangladesh, while their parents don’t have work rights. Though many wish to return home, it’s still unsafe to do so.

Shelter

You can help set up refugee camps in safe zones, provide tents and housing, and help families repair their homes. 

Health

You can help to equip health clinics, deliver immunisation campaigns, and improve hygiene and sanitation in camps. 

Cash assistance

You can provide a cash grant to help a displaced family pay for rent, food, medicine, clothing, education and transport.

“We lack everything. No one knows about our condition except God.”

Displaced Yemenis like Khatema are facing severe hunger and poverty. The country has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world, with 2.2 million children under five acutely malnourished.

Khatema, a displaced Yemeni mother, sits with a young boy in her shelter. She is among millions of Yemenis who need humanitarian support to make ends meet.
© UNHCR

Our fundraising impact

The majority of funds raised by Australia for UNHCR are directed to UNHCR’s emergency operations, providing the ready funds and resources to respond quickly and effectively in situations of crisis and disaster.

75%
Humanitarian programs
13%
Admin
12%
Fundraising