Inaction costs lives: How humanitarians are helping 188 million people

In the first six months of this year, the intensity and severity of humanitarian needs drastically increased for millions of people worldwide. Conflict and violence displaced staggering numbers of people in countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Myanmar and Sudan, while climate shocks – such as floods, cyclones and droughts – destroyed lives and livelihoods in countries such as Burundi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

As a result, the Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) – the annual funding appeal produced by OCHA on behalf of the humanitarian community – is seeking US$48.7 billion to help 188 million people in 72 countries. However, by the end of June only 19 per cent of this amount had been received.

This is concerning given that humanitarians tightly defined each funding appeal in the GHO, making harrowing decisions as to who and what to include. Funding shortfalls are now affecting partners’ ability to meet the most acute needs of millions of people in crisis worldwide. Cuts in food assistance mean people are at risk of starvation in places such as Burkina Faso, South Sudan and Yemen. Women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health care and services for gender-based violence is compromised in multiple crises. Children in countries such as Mali, OPT and Syria are being deprived of their future due to education funding shortfalls. And in countries including Afghanistan and Bangladesh, people are at heighted risk of life-threatening diseases due to underfunded water, sanitation and hygiene services.

The consequences are particularly dire in the nine most underfunded crises: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, DRC, Haiti, Honduras, Mali, Myanmar and Sudan. Between 2019 and 2023, funding for these crises was, on average, 15 per cent lower than for all other crises. And there are direct repercussions: the percentage of people reached with assistance and protection under these countries’ plans and appeals is 16 per cent lower than others, on average. These percentages represent millions of dollars and millions of lives.

Despite these enormous obstacles, the humanitarian community has rallied to help people who need it most, building on the support from community-based organizations. In the first five months of this year, humanitarians reached at least 39.7 million people with some form of assistance, from drought-resistant seeds to safe drinking water, emergency health care and protection services for displaced people. National and local partners delivered much of this assistance. For example, more than 7,000 returned migrants received reintegration assistance through reception centres in Guatemala, and 50,000 refugees, migrants and host-community members received protection assistance in Honduras.

But this life-saving work can continue only if there is a global commitment to fully fund humanitarian appeals, and to protect the aid workers helping people in need every day.

As ASG Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, New York, shared "… as we go into the second half of the year, the unavoidable reality is that nothing fully replaces the need for donors to step forward with outstanding funding – funding for our partners, for our country appeals, for country-based pooled funds, for the Central Emergency Response Fund. Every cent matters."

The cost of inaction is paid for in lives.