Funding required: $23.18 B
Funding received: $936.6 M
Funding percentage: 3.8%
People in need: 128.8 M
People to receive aid: 93.6 MCountries affected: 35
In February 2018 four humanitarian response plans already announced in the GHO 2018 were officially launched: these were for Burundi, Cameroon, Mali and Nigeria. In addition, the 2018 Regional Refugee Response Plan for Burundi was published in February. Prior to the launch of the Ethiopia Humanitarian and Disaster Resilience Plan (HDRP) in March, and to ensure gaps in funding were being addressed while the HDRP was being finalized, a Humanitarian Prioritization Document for 2018 was released in February. This document indicated that $242.2 million is urgently required to address critical gaps for the coming six months. A plan highlighting the humanitarian situation induced by drought in Mauritania was also issued in February.
As at 28 February 2018, UN-coordinated Humanitarian Response Plans (HRP) and the Syria 3RP Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan require $24.41 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of 128.8 million crisis-affected people in 26 countries.
According to FTS, appeals were funded at $936.6 million or 4% of requirements on 28 February 2018. For real time updates on incoming funds, see fts.unocha.org
After seven years of conflict, civilians in Syria continue to bear the brunt of a conflict marked by suffering, destruction and disregard for human life. 13.1 million people require humanitarian assistance, including 5.6 million people who are in acute need. Some 11.6 million people have had to flee their homes, including 5.5 million who have fled across the border into neighboring countries. Continued fighting and bureaucratic restrictions limit access to those in besieged and hard-to-reach areas, particularly in eastern Ghouta where hundreds have reportedly been killed over recent weeks. While access remains difficult across conflict lines, the UN and its partners continue to reach millions of people every month through its regular programming and from across borders. Funding for these operations remains critical: the 2018 humanitarian response for Syria asks for $3.5 billion to meet the needs of all Syrians throughout the country. At the same time, it is critical to sustain and reinforce international support to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, who host large refugee populations. A further $4.4 billion has been appealed for to support 5.5 million refugees in the region.
Securing full funding for the 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) is currently a top priority: after three years of conflict, conditions in Yemen are catastrophic. A record 22.2 million people need humanitarian assistance or protection – including 8.4 million who are severely food insecure. About 400,000 children under age 5 are severely malnourished and ten times likelier to die without treatment than healthy children. Some 2 million people remain displaced – 90% of whom fled their homes more than a year ago. Nearly 1.1 million suspected cases of cholera have been reported since April 2017 in what experts have called the world’s worst outbreak of the disease. An estimated 3 million women and girls in Yemen are at risk of gender-based violence.
In February, the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates confirmed they would transfer $930 million by 31 March towards the 2018 YHRP.
Other donors have also stepped forward, with total pledges and funding to date amounting to about one-third of the entire appeal. On 3 April, the Secretary-General will convene a pledging conference in Geneva hosted by Sweden and Switzerland where all donors will have an opportunity to work together to provide the remaining resources needed for this response.Urgent funding is required to sustain and scale up life-saving assistance to vulnerable people in Mali. The 2018 HRP for Mali aims to provide life-saving aid for 1.56 million of the most vulnerable people among 4.1 million people exposed to deteriorating security conditions and a looming food and nutrition crisis; poor rains in 2017 have precipitated a lean season. Over 795,000 people require immediate food assistance, a figure expected to rise to 1.5 million people by June 2018. Over 460,000 people will be deprived of life-saving food assistance if funds are not forthcoming and if UNICEF doesn’t receive $15 million with which to treat severe acute malnutrition, 274,000 children will be placed at risk of death.
For information on urgent funding needs in DPRK, Burundi, CAR, Ukraine and Cameroon, click on the icon on page 2 of this update.
In all, $80.8 million have been allocated through CERF in 2018, including $77.4 million in rapid response and $3.4 million in underfunded emergency grants. In February, $49.9 million was disbursed to agencies in Yemen following the USG announcement in January. $19.7 million were allocated through the rapid response window to support key aspects of the L3 operational plans in DRC. The funds will have a direct and catalytic impact on the scale-up of the response and operational capacity in the L3 areas to deliver a more coordinated and informed response by supporting enhanced coordination and information management capacity at the provincial hubs, joint assessments and analysis, common logistics and air services, as well as rapid multi-sectoral assistance for more than 400,000 people within the food, WASH, shelter/NFIs, health and protection sectors. CERF also supported the scale-up of refugee response activities in neighboring Uganda and Zambia where tens of thousands of people have fled the violence in DRC. The First Underfunded Emergencies Round of 2018 is ongoing through March with $100 million in the approval process for nine countries. Grants totaling some $3.4 million were approved in February for Tanzania, Mali and Eritrea.
Contributions (including pledges) to country-based pooled funds (CBPFs) have reached $161 million in the first two months of 2018, with nine donors committing funds to 17 CBPFs. The Humanitarian Funds for the whole-of-Syria response ($30 million), Sudan ($24.5 million), Democratic Republic of Congo ($20.6 million) and Afghanistan ($16.8 million) have received funds and pledges for the largest amounts to fund urgent humanitarian activities. The majority of CBPF funds have been allocated to NGOs, with 49.5 per cent going to international NGOs and 12.5 per cent to national NGOs. Allocations have been made in Afghanistan and occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Funds, filling critical gaps for 140,000 of the most vulnerable Palestinians, due to cuts in UNRWA funding. The Turkey Humanitarian Fund called for a First Reserve Allocation for 2018 for $15 million, to meet life-saving needs of newly displaced people following the recent surge of violence in north-west Syria, proposed projects for which are currently under final review.