As global crises deepen and aid budgets shrink to their lowest in a decade, Scotland’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund is helping deliver life-saving support — from Sudan and Congo to Afghanistan — proving that solidarity still matters. The following piece is a reproduction of an op-ed written by SIDA’s CEO for Frances Guy for The Herald, published on 28th December 2025.
It is right that at year end our thoughts turn to those less fortunate, shivering in tents as a result of forced displacement, or earthquakes, or fleeing conflict. 2025 has been a difficult year for many across the world, with increased conflict, increased typhoons, hurricanes and floods and, for many, a worrisome increase in the language of division that undermine cooperation and solidarity here and around the world. Claims of action to build peace seem far from the daily reality for many.
OCHA, the United Nations body that coordinates aid response around the world notes in its recent report that humanitarian organisations and their local partners are over-stretched, under-funded and under attack – facing widespread brutality, impunity and indifference.
Following deep cuts to the US aid budget and significant reductions in overseas development assistance here in the UK too, the global humanitarian aid budget is at its lowest level for a decade. Limited funds means that the most acute crises must be prioritised, meaning countless other communities won’t get any support at all in 2026.
And yet, millions of people continue to receive support thanks to the generosity of others ensuring resilience against the odds and hope for the future.
Here in Scotland, this life saving support is delivered through the Scottish Government’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund, advised by a panel of humanitarian experts which I have had the privilege to chair.
As well as supporting ongoing aid efforts in Gaza and the wider Middle East region, the Fund this year has supported responses to crises that rarely make the headlines but where millions are suffering. During this past year, that includes fresh funding for ongoing work to help families caught up in the violent conflict in Sudan but also responses in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Kenya.
The scale and the intensity of the civil war in Sudan is staggering. Around 150,000 people have been killed. Nearly 25 million people – close to five times the entire population of Scotland – are acutely short of food with famine in Darfur where there has been brutal, indiscriminate mass killing of civilians.
Within and beyond Sudan’s borders, millions of people have been forced to flee their homes. Up until this point, the response of the international community has been woefully inadequate, made worse by those shrinking aid commitments which are decimating the supply of life-saving food and medical support, combined by apparent political indifference to the plight of others and the need to take action to prevent further conflict and end the violence.
Against this backdrop, every contribution is vital and so it is heartening that the Scottish Government has funded Scottish charities to respond once again this year. Tearfund have been able to support Sudanese refugees who have fled into neighbouring Chad with cash grants to buy what they need most, including food, medical supplies and household essentials.
Since the start of the civil war more than two years ago with Scottish government support Islamic Relief and the British Red Cross have delivered support inside Sudan with Christian Aid and Oxfam helping refugees who أhave escaped the violence over the southern border into South Sudan.
In the chaos of this conflict, a wider emphasis on feminist principles means women and their children are prioritised, giving them more control on how they rebuild their lives with safety, dignity, and hope for the future.
Tearfund and Oxfam were also given funding to respond to another vast and protracted crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here again, millions of lives are threatened by long running intercommunal violence close to the eastern border with Rwanda which has also disrupted food production and left homeless families in acute hunger.
These small, often unheralded, interventions have together made a life changing difference to tens of thousands of people in these countries in the past year. They are a powerful demonstration of solidarity and global community. In the weeks ahead, attention will understandably be focused closer to home, many may feel anxious about polarisation in our own communities, influenced by crises elsewhere. We should remember the power of hope and inspiration that these actions of solidarity bring and continue to strive for a better future for all wherever they are in the world.
As well as leading Scotland’s International Development Alliance as CEO, Frances Guy is also the independent Chair of Expert Panel of the Scottish Government’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund.