Why has UNOCHA set a lower target for humanitarian spending?

Earlier this month, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs launched a “hyper-prioritized” appeal to raise $29 billion by the end of the year. The move comes after UNOCHA revealed it had received just $5.6 billion of funding so far for its plans from its main funders, who are typically donor governments. Right now, it has less than 13% of what is needed, at almost the halfway point of the year. Its current estimate is that $44 billion is needed to tackle humanitarian needs during the year. That figure is also down from $47.4 billion at the start of the year; it’s common for UNOCHA estimates to fluctuate slightly throughout the year as its estimates of need change. Even the initial figure is lower than that of the previous two years. The number of those in need of aid peaked in 2023, according to UNOCHA reports, due to the impact of, first, the pandemic, and then the war in Ukraine — although some in the aid sector are saying that UNOCHA had reduced its ask under pressure from donors who said it was too high. Officially, the latest appeal “further prioritizes, but does not replace” the $44 billion figure. The decision to launch a new appeal for a lower amount follows the collapse in humanitarian funding from the United States, which last year provided just under 40% of all funding to U.N. humanitarian appeals. Without U.S. backing, UNOCHA is unlikely to get anywhere close to its target for funding — a reality recognized by Tom Fletcher, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, in his introduction to the latest special edition of the Global Humanitarian Overview — a regular document that UNOCHA produces to provide a snapshot of the current statement of humanitarian need. “Brutal funding cuts have left us with no other option than to further reduce the number of people we are hoping to save,” Fletcher said. “We are left with the cruel math of doing less with less — even as the world around us remains on fire.” “Make no mistake,” he went on, “our appeal for less money does not mean there are less needs. Quite the contrary. What has changed is that funding for our work has been decimated.” “What has changed is that more people in positions of power are choosing to finance wars instead of aiding people bearing their brunt; retreating from their obligations under international law instead of upholding them,” Fletcher added. What do the figures say? UNOCHA has currently identified around 300 million people in need of humanitarian aid, among which it identified 114 million in urgent need. It said that as a result of the cuts, at least 79 million people will no longer be targeted for assistance. The cuts are expected to impact at least 14 million malnourished children. At least 12,000 humanitarian staff positions have already been slashed from dozens of groups, and 22 organizations have had to close. The overall UNOCHA figures are divided into separate plans for each affected country or region. According to UNOCHA data, two regional response plans, addressing disasters in Syria and South Sudan, have received no funding at all. No plan has so far received half the funding it needs for the year, with the closest being a small plan in the Philippines addressing the impact of tropical cyclones, which has received $8.1 million out of $16.9 million.