One thing unites humanitarian aid organizations worldwide: more people than ever before are in need, whether it be in Gaza, Haiti, or Afghanistan.
“Every morning, I dread checking my email to see what new and terrible thing has happened,” says Save the Children U.S. managing director of humanitarian policy Leslie Archambeault.
Why, therefore, is the UN requesting less funding for humanitarian relief from states in 2024 than it did in 2023?
The United Nations has reduced its annual appeal request from $57 billion to $46 billion this year, citing a frigid climate among contributors.
This is the first instance in recent memory that it has occurred like this. “We have prioritized urgent life-saving needs as our core business, not because there is no need,” stated Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs at a December event. According to Griffiths, the United Nations has been forced to concentrate on the most pressing emergencies, “looking at life-saving needs as the overwhelming priority.”
Remember that the United Nations usually does not receive what it requests. The United Nations got just 40% of the donations it asked for in 2023 to support humanitarian initiatives around the world, compared to 68% the year before. The amount of money requested and what governments provide are nearly never equal. However, this year the
I believe that the current state of humanitarian financing prospects worldwide is not good. I’m a little worried. Everyone is really worried, in my opinion,” adds Archambeault.
A large portion of the burden is carried by a small number of countries, making humanitarian donations susceptible to risk.
As for funding, Kate Katch, a practitioner fellow at the University of Virginia and a former U.N. humanitarian affairs officer, says, “It’s really three donors that fund around 50% to 60% of that.” Humanitarian needs aren’t getting any less, and the top three donors aren’t contributing noticeably more either. And the signals seem to indicate that it will either remain that way or maybe slow down.”
Approximately 300 million people globally, according to U.N. estimates, are in critical need of food, shelter, medical treatment, and other necessities. The number has increased due to the accumulation of long-term crises in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Myanmar, as well as the exacerbation of urgent emergencies in Gaza and Ukraine. In addition to wars and hostilities, the cost is being increased by natural calamities exacerbated by climate change and worldwide economic difficulties.
“It’s this compounding vulnerability that is really making crises much more protracted and much more expensive,” Katch states. Ultimately, rather than only relying on the humanitarians to attempt to maintain basic services for these communities, we need to consider more long-term ways to support them.