World Press Photo contest winners reflect global challenges

This photo of 9-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour from Gaza won the top award. An explosion during an Israeli attack on Gaza severed one of his arms and mutilated the other. Ajjour is learning to use his feet to play games, write, open doors and use his phone. According to the jury: "The photograph of this Palestinian boy speaks to the long-term costs of war, the silences that perpetuate violence."

A young man walks 2 kilometers along a dry riverbed to bring his mother food in a village in Brazil. Drought across the Amazon basin caused by climate change has made boat travel impossible in some areas. The jury said the project clearly shows how climate change affects "vulnerable communities closely connected with the natural world." This photo is one of two finalists.

This photo was also a finalist. It sheds light on the recent rise of immigration from China to the United States due to China's economic losses after the COVID-19 pandemic. Backlit and otherworldly, the people in the photo are shown at the Mexico-US border. A parent and child embrace, which, as the jury said, "invites reflection and evokes questions about the uncertainty that lies ahead."

Part of a long-term project, this photo was taken in Santa Tecla, El Salvador, and shows a man being taken into custody on the day El Salvador approved a state of emergency in 2022. The declaration limited El Salvadorans' rights. It was meant to curb gang violence, but it has led to mass incarceration. Carlos Barrera has been following individuals and families affected by the legislation.

Members of Nigeria's LGBTQ+ community face discrimination and up to 14 years in prison under Nigeria's Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act and Penal Code, which criminalize public displays of same-sex relationships and gender nonconformity. Yet some still find ways to express themselves, such as at this underground ballroom and drag event that was part of a 2024 Pride celebration in Lagos.

Bodybuilder Tamale Safalu trains at his home in Kampala, Uganda. After the athlete lost his leg in 2020, he became committed to overcoming myriad physical and mental challenges, becoming the country's first disabled athlete to compete against non-disabled bodybuilders. "I want to encourage other people with disabilities to recognize their own talents," he said in a statement.

Lopburi, Thailand, has been nicknamed "monkey city" for its long-tailed macaques, which are believed to bring good luck. The population has boomed in recent years, and the situation has grown with monkeys becoming increasingly aggressive — even leading some residents to avoid leaving their homes. In this photo, a man sprays alcohol toward long-tailed macaques to keep them from stealing goods.

In October and November 2024, four consecutive cyclones, some of which developed into typhoons, hit the Philippines. The storms caused hundreds of deaths, destroyed property and displaced millions of people. The Philippines has seen a 210% increase in typhoons since 2012. According to some studies, the jump is caused by climate change intensifying extreme rainfall and flooding worldwide.

Six-year-old Anhelina from Ukraine has suffered from panic attacks since her family fled their home due to the Russian invasion. Many were outraged when the jury paired her photo with one of a wounded soldier, saying the images did not belong together. The jury was also criticized for awarding a photographer working for Russia's state-run media agency, a story DW covered in a separate article.

"Maria" follows the life of Ana Maria Jeremias, a domestic worker in Portugal, whose story mirrors that of many women. At age 9, she was trafficked from Angola to Portugal under false promises of education. She was forced to take a new name, date of birth and work in domestic service until she managed to free herself. She is still employed in domestic work, like thousands of others in Portugal.

Photographer Ebrahim Alipoor documented the dangerous work of kolbars. These cross-border couriers carry goods like household appliances, mobile phones and clothes on their backs from Turkey and Iraq into the Kurdish territories of Iran. Driven by widespread poverty in the Kurdish regions of Iran and due to a ban on such imports, many do this dangerous job out of necessity.

This photo series sheds light on the difficult lives of Colombia's nomadic Indigenous Embera Dobida community. Three women stand by the grave of their 16-year-old sister, wearing shawls she left behind after committing suicide. The project sheds light on the number of suicides in the community in Bojaya, Choco, which has sharply increased in the last several years due to poverty.