People in need
309.9 million
People targeted
187.8 million
Requirements (US$)
48.65 billion
Appeals
41
Inter-Agency appeals funding (US$)
7.85 billion
Appeals coverage
16%
Total humanitarian funding (US$)
11.23 billion
As of 31 May 2024, the Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) requires $48.65 to assist 187.8 million people of the 309.9 million people in need. The GHO is made up of 23 Humanitarian Response Plans; five Flash Appeals, and nine Regional Refugees Response Plans and other types of plans which cover 72 countries. Despite intensified needs, requirements this year are 13 per cent (or $7.34 billion) lower than last year at this time as a result of rigorous prioritization and boundary-setting efforts.
Donors have provided $7.85 billion to the GHO as of 31 May 2024, which is 16 per cent of total requirements. While this amount is slightly higher in monetary terms than the average ($6.78 billion) of the past five years, it is lower in terms of coverage of GHO requirements which averaged 18 per cent over the past five years. The gap between the requirements and the funding currently stands at a staggering $40.79 billion. Despite similar trends, the funding outlook for 2024 is of great concern, as several key donors have indicated that their 2024 budgets will be less than in previous years. This means that organizations which are already struggling will face even greater challenges in the second semester.
Twenty-two of the 41 inter-agency response plans are currently funded above the global average of 16 per cent, which is about the same as in 2023 and 2022, suggesting that the imbalance in funding coverage for appeals remains a protracted problem in 2024. In absolute terms, Ethiopia (minus $520 million), Yemen (minus $498 million) and Somalia (minus $370 million) have seen the sharpest decreases in funding compared to the same time last year. Conversely, the following plans have seen increases in both absolute funding and coverage compared to the same time last year: Afghanistan (HRP and RRP); Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, DRC, Guatemala, Honduras, Myanmar, Sudan, Rohingya Refugee Joint Response Plan (JRP), Syria Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), and the Horn of Africa and Yemen Migrant Response Plan (MRP).
An additional $3.37 billion of humanitarian funding has been channelled outside the GHO, bringing the total humanitarian funding to $11.23 billion as of mid-year, which is 18 per cent less than what was recorded at the same time in 2023 and 2022.
More comparisons and trends can be found in the pages that follow. As always, trends at mid-year are indicative and are based on data provided to the Financial Tracking Service (FTS).
Evolution of needs and funding
Appeal coverage: funding and gaps (2019 – 2024)
GHO requirements have increased over the years, at least since 2019, and reached a peak high of $56 billion in 2023. For 2024, the requirements have come down to $48.65 billion to assist 187.8 million people in need. As of 31 May, the 2024 requirements are only 16 per cent covered, which is slightly below the 18 per cent mid-year average from 2019 to 2023. The mid-year funding gap amounts to $40.79 billion, marking the second highest gap in the past five years, following the record high of 2023 ($46.86 billion).
In 2023, funding for the GHO reached $24.27 billion or 43 per cent of the required amount. This is $6.09 billion less than what was recorded for 2022. Last year was the first decrease in reported appeal funding in absolute terms over the past five years. In addition to record-high requirements, 2023 coverage was also the lowest – only 43 per cent. This is the first time in the history of inter-agency coordinated appeals that the coverage as of end-year did not reach at least 50 per cent.
At mid-year (US$) 2024 (as of 31 May)
At year-end (US$) 2024
Appeal coverage: monthly evolution (2019-2024)
The monthly evolution of appeal coverage and reported funding provides insight into the speed of funding disbursement and reporting by donors and recipients. It is common for reported funding to increase noticeably between March and April due to disbursement and reporting cycles, however, in 2023 and 2024, the increase appeared later than usual from April to May.
Appeal coverage: Monthly evolution (2019 - 2024)
Humanitarian funding at mid-year (2015 – 2024)
Total humanitarian funding as of 31 May 2024 amounts to $11.23 billion, which is 24 per cent less than last year at the same time. Still, this amount is the fourth largest since 2015, after 2023, 2022 and 2018. The share of funding to the appeals is also the second highest since 2015, with 70 per cent of the total humanitarian funding reported against coordinated appeals. The highest share was in 2018, with 77 per cent.
Total Humanitarian Funding (2015 - 2024, at mid-year)
Evolution of requirements per region (mid-year 2023 vs mid-year 2024)
At mid-year 2024, the largest decrease in funding requirements, both in absolute figures and compared to mid-year last year, is in the Middle East and North Africa region with a decrease of $2.15 billion; followed by the Southern and East Africa region, with a decrease of $2.09 billion. In percentage terms, the Eastern Europe and the Asia and the Pacific regions had the largest decreases in funding requirements compared to last year at mid-year, with 26 and 24 per cent less, respectively. Conversely, Western and Central Africa is the only region with increased financial requirements compared to last year, with a six per cent increase ($464.9 million).
Requirements per region (2023 - 2024)
Requirements per region - May 2023
Requirements per region - May 2024
Evolution of funding per region
Recorded funding as of mid-year 2024 has decreased compared to last year at the same time for all regions. The greatest decrease has been observed in Southern and East Africa (41 per cent or $1.23 billion less), primarily because last year at mid-year, funding for this region was exceptionally high as a result of additional support for food security related activities.
Funding per region (2023 - 2024)
Funding per region - May 2023
Funding per region - May 2024
Top funding increases per appeal (2023 vs 2024)
Nine countries have more funding at mid-year in 2024 than at the same time last year, most notably Cameroon, Chad, Colombia and Guatemala. However, mid-year funding levels are not always a predictor of end-year funding. It is also worth noting that at mid-year 2023, there were 20 countries with increased funding compared to mid-year 2022, which is significantly more than the current nine countries.
Top 10 funding increases (2023 - 2024)
Top crises
In mid-2024, the five largest appeals – Syria crisis HRP and RRP, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ethiopia and Ukraine - account for 38 per cent of the global requirements and they have received 45 per cent of the total appeal funding to date. Comparatively, last year at the same time, the five largest appeals made up 42 per cent of the global requirements and had received 43 per cent of the reported funding. Although Syria and Ethiopia are among the largest appeals, they have not received funding commensurate with their requirements to date.
The top 10 appeals make up 65 per cent of the total requirements in 2024 and so far they have received 70 per cent of the total funding. This mirrors the situation observed at mid-year in 2023.
Humanitarian Response Plans (2024): Funding Status at mid-year
Donor trends
Top 30 donors (2024 at mid-year)
The following chart demonstrates both the generosity and the reliance upon a small group of top donors who provide a significant portion of humanitarian funding. Similar to previous years, the top five donors provide almost two-thirds of total institutional humanitarian funding, while the top ten provide 85 per cent. Further diversification and broader responsibility-sharing among humanitarian donors – along with increased quality and flexible funding, resources for anticipatory action, and complementary development financing in humanitarian contexts - remain key priorities.
Top donors 2024 at end-May
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