Launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview 2019 and the World Humanitarian Data and Trends 2018
At the end of November 2018, 21 Humanitarian Response Plans (HRP) and the Syria Regional Response Plan (3RP) require US$24.93 to assist 97.9 million people in urgent need of humanitarian support. The requirements are lower than announced at the end of October ($25.2 billion) as those for Ethiopia have now been reduced. The plans are funded at $14.29 billion; this amounts to 57.3 per cent of financial requirements for 2018. Two million fewer people are considered to be in need in Mali than at the end of October, hence the reduction in the overall number of people in need in this month’s overview.
Global requirements are $1.8 billion higher than at this time in 2017, and the amount of funding received is $1.69 billion higher than it was at this time last year.
On 4 December 2018, the USG/ERC launched the Global Humanitarian Overview 2019 and World Humanitarian Data and Trends 2018 at an event in the Council Chamber, United Nations Office at Geneva. The event was attended by almost 200 representatives of Member States, intergovernmental and international organizations, UN organizations and NGOs, and by the Red Cross movement, the World Economic Forum and specialized meteorological foundations. A recording of the event can be found here: Event in Geneva to launch the GHO 2019 and WHDT 2018.
Pooled Funds
In 2018, as of early December, country-based pooled funds (CBPF) received a total of $845 million, once again setting a new record in annual contributions. Generous support from 31 Member States, from one crown dependency and from the general public through the UN Foundation, continues to demonstrate a high level of confidence in this mechanism for reaching the people most affected by humanitarian emergencies. In the past year, CBPFs have allocated a total $695 million, with $81 million awaiting approval. The Yemen Humanitarian Fund (HF) remains the largest of the funds, with $187 million already allocated towards response to urgent humanitarian needs. The HFs in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, South Sudan and Turkey have each allocated over $50 million. Globally, three-fifths of all CBPF allocations were disbursed to NGOs, including 24 per cent ($170 million) directly to national and local NGOs. Another two-fifths were allocated to UN agencies, while Red Cross/Red Crescent organizations received 1 percent of funding ($8 million).
Between 1 January and 30 November 2018, the Emergency Relief Coordinator approved $488 million in grants from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), including $308 million from the Rapid Response Window and $180 million from the Underfunded Emergencies Window. The grants will support life-saving activities in 48 countries. In November, a total of $11 million was released to scale-up response to cholera in Nigeria and pneumonic plague in Madagascar, as well as to expand existing UN programmes in Venezuela in support of government efforts to increase essential health and nutrition services.