The Global Humanitarian Access Overview is ACAPS’s twice-yearly assessment of the barriers that prevent aid from reaching people in crisis and people in crisis from receiving assistance.
The December 2025 edition examines humanitarian access in contexts where authority is fragmented across competing governance structures, territorial divisions, and parallel regulatory systems, drawing on four case countries: Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen.
KEY FINDINGS
Fragmented authority creates uneven and de facto discriminatory access to assistance and services for civilians given differing rules and intentional exclusion practices.
Civilians face differing movement rules, documentation requirements, curfews, and security risks depending on which authority controls their area.
Humanitarian organisations face complex challenges when interacting with various authorities simultaneously, such as overlapping registration requirements, inconsistent permits, and increased risk of interference, surveillance, detention, or de-registration.
Administrative burdens increase costs, slow delivery, and reduce program efficiency, affecting partner selection and risk tolerance.
Between June 2025 and November 2025, crisis-affected populations in 36 countries experienced high to extreme humanitarian access constraints that made it difficult for them to meet their basic needs.
SEVERE ACCESS
CONSTRAINTS
Access scores show a deterioration in 23% of the crisis-affected countries (19 countries) and an improvement in 11% (nine countries), while the humanitarian access situation remained stable for 66% (54 countries).
This distribution, which is consistent with that observed in previous months, underscores the persistence of high to extreme levels of humanitarian constraints (3–5) in 44% of crisis-affected countries.
WHAT IS THE HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SITUATION ACROSS THE GLOBE?
Disclaimer: some countries with active humanitarian crises might score 0 in ACAPS' Humanitarian Access Index in two instances: 1) the crisis emerged after the December 2025 issue of the index - in that case, the score is automatically 0, in the absence of data/historical data; 2) the actual score is 0 because no humanitarian access constraints were reported.
HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SCORES over time
Sudan continues to score 5 due to persistent extreme barriers. Widespread insecurity, deliberate restrictions by conflict parties, bureaucratic interference, aid looting, and infrastructure destruction continued limiting aid to people in need.
Between June 2025 and November 2025, humanitarian access across crises continued to be challenged especially by physical constraints, such as damage to roads and bridges, and violence affecting access to services, particularly in countries affected by conflicts or natural hazards.
This overall trend remained stable over the reporting period and is explained by the frequency of extreme weather events in countries already experiencing significant humanitarian access constraints given poor road infrastructure and remote locations, often in contexts of armed conflict.
Movement restrictions, administrative and bureaucratic constraints, and interference by authorities and non-state armed groups in humanitarian activities remained prevalent across crises, hampering or delaying the response.
Among crises scoring 3–5, conflict and climate hazards were among the primary drivers at 75% and 61%, respectively, revealing overlapping multihazard dynamics.
Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen
Intensified violence, critical infrastructure damage, and movement restrictions continued to limit access to people in need of humanitarian aid. High levels of humanitarian need persist in these countries because of protracted conflicts, often compounded by climate hazards.
HOW ARE THE ACCESS LEVELS BEING CALCULATED?
Our methodology groups 9 indicators under 3 pillars: each indicator is given a score from 0–3 and X when there is an information gap. The model then combines the indicators in pillars, where they get a final score on a scale of 0–5.
PILLAR 1: ACCESS OF PEOPLE IN NEED TO HUMANITARIAN AID
indicators under PILLAR 1
1: Denial of existence of humanitarian needs or entitlements to assistance
2: Restriction and obstruction of access to services and assistance
Ethiopia, Iraq, Myanmar
38% of the crisis-affected countries in the ACAPS Global Humanitarian Access Index scored 3–5 for this pillar. The majority of these countries faced protracted crises marked by the denial of entitlement to assistance to some affected groups, often by both state and de facto authorities, and movement restrictions imposed by the authorities, national armed forces, or non-state armed groups, hampering the ability of affected people to access aid. Conflict and international displacement were the main drivers of the crises scoring 3–5 for this pillar.
Residents await exit at government-controlled Hol Camp in Syria
PILLAR 2: ACCESS OF HUMAnITARIAN RESPONDERS TO PEOPLE IN NEED
indicators under PILLAR 2
3: Impediments to enter the country
4: Restriction of movement within the country
5: Interference into implementation of humanitarian activities
6: Violence against humanitarian personnel, facilities, and assets
Haiti, Sudan, Yemen
17% of the crisis-affected countries in the ACAPS Global Humanitarian Access Index scored 3–5 for this pillar. These were mainly countries facing protracted conflicts, with a stable global access score ranging from 3–5, that across the years have tended to record frequent incidents of violence against humanitarians and recurrent or systemic obstruction and interference in the implementation of humanitarian activities by both state and de facto authorities.
People are seen among the rubble after an airstrike hit Sanaa, Yemen, on September 2025. Several buildings in the city were severely damaged.
PILLAR 3: PHYSICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SECURITY CONSTRAINTS
Indicators UNDER PILLAR 3
7: Insecurity or hostilities affecting humanitarian assistance
8: Presence of landmines, improvised explosive devices, explosive remnants of war and unexploded ordnance
9: Physical constraints in the environment
Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Pakistan
71% of the crisis-affected countries in the ACAPS Global Humanitarian Access Index scored 3–5 for this pillar, the highest percentage across all pillars. The crises concerned are mainly those driven by conflict and/or natural hazards, where obstacles to humanitarian access related to terrain, weather conditions, and lack of or poor critical infrastructure have been observed.
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Humanitarian access overview
10 February 2026
Humanitarian access overview: spotlight on fragmented contexts
DOCUMENT / PDF / 1 MB
Between June–November 2025, crisis-affected populations in 36 countries experienced high to extreme humanitarian access constraints, according to the ACAPS humanitarian access analysis framework. Operational barriers, including the requirement for aid organisations to secure multiple sequential approvals, fragmented service coverage across jurisdictions, and increased reliance on remote modalities, further hindered their ability to meet basic needs.
08 May 2025
Ukraine: quarterly humanitarian access update (Q1 2025)
DOCUMENT / PDF / 9 MB
This report compares access challenges across Ukrainian oblasts and raions to inform humanitarian responders and support decision-making. It is part of the ACAPS regular analysis of access constraints, with the latest report published on 6 February 2025.
Attached resources
06 February 2025
Ukraine: Quarterly humanitarian access update (Q4 2024)
DOCUMENT / PDF / 9 MB
This report compares access challenges across Ukrainian oblasts and raions to inform humanitarian responders and support decision-making. It is part of the ACAPS quarterly analysis of access constraints, with the latest report published on 28 October 2024.
Attached resources
18 November 2024
Myanmar: access constraints in Rakhine state
DOCUMENT / PDF / 284 KB
This report highlights the challenges surrounding aid delivery for humanitarian organisations and access to that aid for people in need. It aims to inform humanitarian responders, donors, and decision makers about the access constraints affecting their operations, staff, and the communities they serve.
29 October 2024
Ukraine: quarterly humanitarian access update (Q3 2024)
DOCUMENT / PDF / 4 MB
This report compares access challenges across Ukrainian oblasts to inform humanitarian responders and support decision-making. It is part of the ACAPS quarterly analysis of access constraints, with the previous report published on 29 July 2024.