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Rising together

Recovery and rebuilding in times of crisis

By United Nations Development Programme

December 23^rd, 2025

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A mother searching for shelter in a bombed street.

A nurse unpacking medical supplies.

A shopkeeper restocking shelves.

A teacher unlocking a repaired classroom.

A group of neighbours clearing a road to reconnect their village.

In the aftermath of crisis, people first look for safety, then for a way forward. They need support to survive today—and the chance to rebuild tomorrow.

What matters is speed, continuity, and trust: help that arrives quickly to save lives, and support that stays long enough to restore what was lost and build what comes next.

UNDP delivered emergency assistance to people affected by the March 2025 earthquake in Myanmar. Photo: UNDP Myanmar

Across the world, immediate relief—food, shelter, medicine—must move in step with recovery efforts that bring back jobs, services and vital infrastructure. Only when these come together can communities break the cycle of crisis and build resilience.

But today’s emergencies are growing faster than available resources. Conflicts, climate shocks and inequality have pushed many countries to the brink, while global solidarity is under strain. This demands closer coordination across the UN system and deeper partnerships with national and local actors who know their communities best.

At the core of these efforts, UNDP works alongside people to turn recovery into reality, clearing debris, restoring livelihoods, repairing roads, clinics and more, while supporting communities to shape their own path forward.

Across contexts, these actions create the first steps towards a safer, more stable future.

UNDP clears rubble on a road leading to Gaza City. The war has created 61 million tonnes of debris which must be cleared, crushed and repurposed. Photo: UNDP PAPP

Recovering lost ground: Opening pathways to recovery

In the hardest-hit places, recovery begins with restoring the basics—clearing streets, reopening safe spaces, and helping people regain a sense of normalcy.

In Gaza, years of bombardment left entire neighbourhoods buried under mountains of debris, cutting families off from hospitals, schools, markets and each other. The conflict has generated nearly 61 million tonnes of rubble, one of the largest in recent history.

Since January 2025, UNDP and local partners have cleared over 120,000 tonnes of debris. This is already unlocking other areas of recovery. In one cleared area, a community kitchen, which once operated in an open dirt lot, now serves around 80,000 meals a day, providing a lifeline for displaced families.

Myanmar faced a similar debris challenge after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck in March 2025, devastating wide swathes of the Sagaing and Mandalay regions. UNDP responded immediately—distributing emergency shelter kits, hygiene supplies and essential provisions to affected families, reaching 500,000 people.

Emergency relief and early recovery advanced side-by-side. More than 15,500 tonnes of debris were cleared, critical infrastructure benefiting 160,000 people was restored, and cash-for-work activities provided urgent income to over 250,000 people.

Safe ground, safer futures

In Ukraine, landmines and explosive remnants of war continue to threaten daily life long after the fighting has moved on.

Thanks to sustained demining efforts, over 35,000 km2 of potentially mine-contaminated land has been reclaimed. Trained demining teams continue to survey contaminated areas, remove explosive threats and mark danger zones to prevent further casualties. This allows families to return and for critical infrastructure to be repaired.

Restoring stability, rebuilding trust

For countries emerging from conflict and displacement, stabilization bridges lifesaving relief and longer-term recovery—restoring basic security, re-establishing essential services, and helping local authorities regain people’s trust.

Years of conflict in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province has displaced more than 600,000 people. UNDP’s stabilization programme is helping restore everyday life, security and livelihoods.

Community security council members now have bicycles and motorbikes to reach households faster and strengthen local safety networks. For vulnerable families, the distribution of goats and sheep provides a first source of income and food security, helping them restart small livelihoods after displacement. Creative art therapy sessions for children and youth help them recover from trauma.

In Ancuabe, communities once overwhelmed by displacement are beginning to see stability return – and hope take root.

Preventing violent extremism

Recovery is not just about rebuilding physical structures. It also means strengthening the social bonds that keep communities peaceful. In regions facing growing risks of radicalization and instability, empowering communities is vital to prevent violent extremism.

Strengthening local networks, and building trust between citizens and institutions reduce the appeal of extremist narratives.

Along Ghana’s northern Atlantic Corridor, UNDP is working to prevent violent extremism by helping expand livelihoods for youth and women while strengthening early-warning systems and local dialogue platforms. Media workers and community leaders are trained to counter hate speech and misinformation, reducing tensions before they escalate.

By addressing the pressures that fuel division, these efforts make communities feel safer and more connected.

Local action, lasting change

Across crisis-affected and fragile settings, local institutions are often the first, and sometimes the only, point of support for communities. When they have the tools, resources and authority to act, recovery becomes fast and fair.

In Colombia, participatory governance initiatives are helping municipalities strengthen public participation, improve service delivery and rebuild confidence between citizens and local authorities. Through community scorecards, participatory monitoring and new digital platforms,

people are able to influence decisions on water management, land use and conservation, helping communities rebuild with greater inclusion and ownership.

As Sudan’s ongoing conflict continues to uproot millions, local actors have emerged as critical bridges across deeply divided communities. A recent assessment of locally led peace initiatives shows how youth groups, women’s networks, religious leaders, and local administrations stepped in to prevent violence, negotiate safe passage, keep markets open and protect essential facilities—often when no formal mechanisms were functioning.

In places like Nyala, Zalingei and Ad-Du’ain, these community-brokered arrangements temporarily reduced clashes, safeguarded hospitals, and allowed markets and movement to resume, offering proof that even in the most volatile settings, local leadership can calm tensions and preserve vital services.

Expanding access to early warnings: When every minute counts

As the risk of extreme weather events intensifies, early warnings have become one of the most effective ways to keep people safe.

In the Pacific island nation of Fiji, the Early Warnings for All initiative is helping upgrade national early-warning systems, extending alerts to remote and coastal settlements that often face the brunt of cyclones and floods. Early-warning messages are already making a difference: during flooding in one rural community, a grandmother received an SMS instructing her to move to higher ground, allowing her and her grandchildren to evacuate safely.

For communities living on the frontlines of weather hazards, these few moments of advance notice mean the difference between life and death.

Early warnings are critical for maritime sectors. Photo: UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji

Seeing what’s invisible: Technology powering crisis response

When crises limit access to those affected, technology becomes essential for understanding what people need, and where help must go first.

After Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica, satellite imagery and remote sensing provided early assessments of the damage. With roads blocked and neighbourhoods isolated, high-resolution images helped identify flooded zones, debris-filled roads and priority areas to enable swift response.

In Haiti, analysis of night-light data and satellite imagery is helping map displacement, identify areas facing prolonged power outages and pinpoint neighbourhoods that have lost access to essential services – insights now guiding response and recovery planning.

Building peace through climate action

In places already facing insecurity, climate change intensifies resource pressures – heightening tensions and making recovery harder. Addressing climate risks therefore becomes essential to build peace.

The Peace Forest Initiative, a collaborative initiative led by United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and UNDP, is laying the foundations for transboundary cooperation in Central Asia’s Ferghana Valley, spread across Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Through participatory assessments, dialogue processes and shared planning across all levels—from national and local governments to community institutions—people are identifying common climate and land degradation risks, mapping priority areas for land restoration, and setting up the governance systems for sharing resources like water and arable land.

By creating these enabling conditions, the initiative is helping reduce resource pressures, strengthen trust and support long-term stability in climate-stressed border regions.

The Peace Forest Initiative is using land restoration and afforestation to advance transboundary cooperation and peacebuilding in Central Asia. Photo: UNDP Kazakhstan/Muhamedzhan Samatuly

Women leading recovery

As communities rebuilding after conflict, women are often the first to restore stability—supporting families, mediating disputes and helping neighbours rebuild their lives.

As part of regional stabilization efforts, women’s groups are becoming a driving force for recovery across north-east Nigeria. The groups are creating safe spaces where women can organize, lead and shape decisions that affect their communities—from starting joint savings schemes to supporting vulnerable families with food, counselling and household essentials. As a result, households are regaining stability, small businesses are reopening, and social support networks are strengthening across affected areas.

When women have a seat at the table, they do not just speak for themselves—they work tirelessly to build a better future for all.

Women’s groups are becoming a driving force for recovery across north-east Nigeria. Photo: UNDP Nigeria/Amalachukwu Ibeneme

Charting the path forward: Turning recovery into lasting progress

As crises evolve, so must our collective response. By standing with governments, partners and the communities at the heart of recovery, we continue to lay the foundations for a more stable, more just and more resilient future.

When people have the tools, services and support they need, they begin rebuilding not just homes and livelihoods, but confidence and possibility.

Opportunities—not crises—shape the next chapter of their recovery.

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