Humanitarian needs expected to hit record levels in 2023

In 2023, 339 million people will need humanitarian assistance, according to a report published last month by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The percentage of people in need has doubled in just four years, UNOCHA said in its Global Humanitarian Overview 2023. And $51.5 billion is needed to meet humanitarian needs in 2023 — an increase of more than $10 billion on projections just a year ago. Humanitarian appeals have always been underfunded, according to UNOCHA’s financial tracking service, or FTS, which publishes data on its website going back to 2016. But not to the extent that they were last year. Even though more was donated to humanitarian appeals in 2022 in cash terms than in any previous year, for the first time donors gave less than half what UNOCHA said was necessary — $25.1 billion, or 49% of OCHA’s target. “The gap between needs and funding received has never been wider or more concerning,” the report said. The increase in humanitarian need has been driven by the war in Ukraine and by its impact on food prices, which has had repercussions on other areas of humanitarian need, the report said. “The largest global food crisis in modern history is unfolding,” the report said, “driven by conflict, climate shocks and the looming threat of global recession. Hundreds of millions of people are at risk of worsening hunger.” The most underfunded appeals UNOCHA publishes data on 41 appeals through its FTS, including 27 country-focused humanitarian response plans, six flash appeals to target particular crises, eight regional response plans, and two other appeals. The largest appeal was the Syria Refugee Response and Resilience Plan, which required $6.08 billion but received only $1.61 billion, making it just 26.4% funded. Of the humanitarian calls for money, the most underfunded in cash terms were also the largest. The Syria appeal required $4.44 billion, but received only $1.91 billion, making it 43.1% funded. The Afghanistan appeal also required $4.44 billion, but received $2.48 billion, making it 55.8% funded. The Yemen appeal required $4.27 billion, but received $2.40 billion, making it 56.3% funded. The least funded in percentage terms was the Haiti cholera appeal, which required $145.6 million, but received only $14.3 million, making it 9.8% funded. A flash appeal for Ukraine was comparatively well funded, requiring $4.29 billion and receiving $3.34 billion — 77.8% funded — although the majority of the money for Ukraine has been committed outside of the U.N. plan, with the country receiving $16.7 billion in humanitarian assistance altogether, according to data compiled by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.