Foreword

The 2023 Global Humanitarian Assistance Report from Development Initiatives paints a picture of a humanitarian system overwhelmed. The continued effects of Covid-19, the accelerating impacts of climate change and the war in Ukraine are pushing the system as a whole, and humanitarians on the ground, to their limits. While financing for humanitarian assistance has increased, the number of people in need has grown by a record amount, and the gap is widening. The vast majority of those requiring assistance live in countries experiencing protracted crisis. Without addressing the complex, overlapping drivers – conflict, climate change, socio-economic fragility – these trends are likely to continue.

As in previous years, the report provides a critical, system-wide and long-term overview of how financing has been organised and delivered. We show how and why the scale of need has grown, and why the financing gap is now five times greater than it was in 2013 despite an increase in funding from some of the biggest donors.

This raises key questions as to how greater funding can be accessed from a wider donor base, and how development, peacebuilding and climate actors can work together to address the underlying causes of crisis. We also examine the increasingly important intersection between humanitarian response and initiatives supported by climate financing.

It has never been more vital to make sure every dollar spent has the maximum impact. Local organisations are often on the frontline of humanitarian response, but we show that progress in delivering funding to local organisations has been disappointing. There have been some positive steps towards more unrestricted funding for local actors’ overhead costs, but funding patterns do not appear to be fundamentally shifting, despite highly publicised donor commitments to localisation. Addressing this power imbalance is a matter of principle as well as pragmatism, requiring a change in mindset as well as funding behaviour.

Focusing on the need for new ways of thinking and working, for the first time the report features opinion and analysis from key thought-leaders across the humanitarian sector and beyond. They provide unique insights on what the data from this year’s report means for those delivering critical assistance, and how we can improve the provision and overall impact of humanitarian finance to better serve those affected.

As a flagship resource for our partners and the wider crisis-financing community, the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report provides robust and meaningful data on where funding is being spent and how it can be improved. By using both publicly available data and filling crucial gaps through our own data collection, we hope the report provides you with the evidence you need to support the goals we share: building resilient communities and reducing the incidence and impacts of crisis.

Adrian Lovett

CEO, Development Initiatives