This article provides some of the main time-trend analysis to showcase the evolution of humanitarian response. Some of these trends are also featured in the Global Humanitarian Overview 2024. The data is mostly taken at-launch (December 2023) so there may some discrepancies with other real-time elements featured through HumanitarianAction.info, and this will be an area of work.
People in need and people targeted
The Global Humanitarian Overview 2024 (GHO) launched at a time when new and renewed conflicts, the climate crisis, disease outbreaks and economic factors were taking a catastrophic toll on communities around the world. At the same time, the humanitarian system was—and continues to—experience a severe funding crisis. In the GHO 2024, the number of People in Need decreased compared to 2023, not because overall needs decreaesd but through a combination of factors, including discontinued plans and methodological improvements. Humanitarians also worked to present robust appeals, based on a realistic understanding of their capacity to deliver, i.e. carefully assessing who is in need, where and whether those needs should be in the humanitarian response plan or an alternative response mechanism. Overall, the number of people targeted to receive humanitarian assistance in 2024 is still larger than the previous years'.
People targeted vs in need
People targeted vs people in need
Inaction is primarily linked to underfunding. In 2023, humanitarian partners reached 128 million people with at least one form of assistance, but this was less people than in 2022. This was particularly clear in 26 countries that received less funding in 2023 than in 2022.
People targeted vs people reached 2019-2024
The proportional 'split' of sectoral requirements over time has remained somewhat constant, with food security accounting for the largest proportion of financial requirements.
Requirements by sector
The number of country plans has fluctuated over time, but the trend remains that the number of countries with humanitarian response plans is higher that ever before, owing to entrenched conflict, recurring climate shocks and the absence of other actors. After the COVID-19 peak in 2020, there was a 'recalibration' to move from 63 country plans COVID-19-specific humanitarian needs to 36.