The annual Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) report comprehensively assesses international financing at work in humanitarian situations since 2000.
Many people across the world are leading healthier, safer and more prosperous lives, yet despite this progress there remains significant demand for humanitarian assistance. In 2018, 206.4 million people were estimated to be in need. Ongoing conflicts in Syria, Yemen and the Democratic Republic of the Congo continued to cause untold suffering and contributed to the record numbers of people who were forced from their homes. In Afghanistan and Sudan, drought and floods devastated the lives of people whose resilience had already been weakened by conflict. The now-established pattern of recurrent, protracted and complex crises disproportionately affects the poorest people and further entrenches poverty, particularly in politically and environmentally fragile contexts.
New and ongoing initiatives in 2018 sought to bring about change. Global compacts for refugees and safe, orderly and regular migration were agreed. Efforts were also made to reinvigorate the Grand Bargain process, to make sure it achieves its goal of enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance. The UN, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and others likewise continued work to deliver collective humanitarian, development and peacebuilding outcomes. These processes show a continued commitment to change and adapt but much remains to be done.
This year’s report contains detailed analysis of the international financing at work in crisis-affected contexts. Navigating the increasingly complex and changing financing landscape, the report includes new analysis of the wide range of resources going to recurrent and protracted crisis response countries.
