Global Humanitarian Overview 2024 Monthly Updates

November - December update

Inter-Agency Coordinated Appeals: November - December Update

People in Need
325.3M
People Targeted
198.3M
Appeals
49
Requirements (US$)
$49.60B
Inter-Agency Appeals Funding (US$)
$22.58B
Appeals Coverage
45.5%
Total Humanitarian Funding (US$)
$32.04B

By the end of the year, the 2024 Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) required over $49 billion to assist 198.3 million of the people in need across 77 countries through 49 coordinated response plans. More than $4 billion in GHO funding was reported during the months of November and December, bringing total 2024 GHO funding to $22.58 billion. This is $800 million more than at the same time last year, with coverage of appeal requirements reaching 45.5 per cent.

Total reported humanitarian funding reached $32.04 billion, which is an increase of almost $3 billion compared to the $29.12 billion recorded at the same time last year.

The amount of funding reported in the fourth quarter of 2024 ($6.4 billion) was higher than at the same time last year ($4.1 billion), but lower than in the third quarter of the year ($6.9 billion). Last year, larger than usual amounts of 2023 funding were reported well into 2024. Given the concerning financial outlook for 2025, donors and recipients are encouraged to report all 2024 humanitarian funding as soon as possible to the Financial Tracking Service (fts@un.org) to ensure reliable and complete data for analysis.

Quarterly Funding Comparisons

2025 GHO

The 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview was launched on 4 December 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland; Kuwait City, Kuwait; and Nairobi, Kenya. The 2025 GHO presents global trends in crises and humanitarian needs, and reports how the humanitarian community responds to them. It also highlights the humanitarian community’s collective achievements, whilst indicating the real costs for people in crisis when we are unable to respond. In 2025, humanitarian partners are appealing for over $47 billion to assist nearly 190 million people facing life-threatening and urgent needs across 72 countries.

Explore the report and interactive content through Humanitarian Action.

Upcoming Events


Ukraine Joint Launch

The Ukraine Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) and the Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) will be launched in Kyiv, Ukraine on Thursday, 16 January 2025, from 15:00-16:30 local time (GMT+1 in Geneva and GMT-5 in New York). The launch will be held under the auspices of Mr. Tom Fletcher, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and Mr. Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, with the participation of a high-level representative from the Government of Ukraine and other distinguished panellists. The event will be livestreamed in English and Ukrainian on UNWebTV. For more information, please contact ochaukraine@un.org.

Humanitarian Response Plans (2024): Funding Status as of December

Pooled Funds

Total 2024 Allocations (US$)
$1.46B
Countries Assisted with 2024 Allocations
49

In November and December 2024, the OCHA-managed Pooled Funds allocated grants in 20 countries, amounting to $262.9 million to enable essential and life-saving humanitarian assistance. Of this amount, $188.4 million was disbursed through the Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPFs), while $74.5 million came from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

For more information about allocations, see below and visit the CBPFs’ Data Hub, CERF's Data Hub and CERF's website.

CENTRAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND

Allocations endorsed by the ERC as of 31 December 2024

November and December Allocations (US$)
$74.5M
Total 2024 Allocations (US$)
$568.2M
Countries Assisted with Allocations in November and December
10

Allocations in focus: On 15 December, the tropical cyclone Chido made landfall in the Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique with winds exceeding 165 km/h, causing significant damage, severe flooding, and affecting an estimated 1.7 million people, including many who were already displaced. In response, CERF allocated $4 million to provide immediate assistance to those most affected. The funding supports critical relief efforts, including emergency WASH services, food assistance, shelter repairs, mobile health services, and restoration of essential infrastructure. This amount was allocated within hours of the cyclone’s impact, thanks to an innovative conditional rapid response mechanism, making it one of the fastest CERF allocations to date.

Contributions: Total contributions for CERF for 2024, as at the end of the year stand at $565.5 million. This amount is slightly higher than what was received in 2023. It marks the second time since 2018 that CERF has not surpassed the $600 million mark, occurring at a critical time when CERF is needed the most.

At the High-Level Pledging Event (HLPE) on 10 December 2024 in New York, 44 donors pledged $348 million for CERF for 2025. This is below the amount announced at the prior year’s event as several donors were unable to pledge due to transitional governments or yet to be approved 2025 budgets. Some top donors have already announced significant drops to CERF in 2025, which will require concerted stepped-up efforts to bring in new and additional funding. Positively, at and since the HLPE, several donors came forward with support for the CERF Climate Action Account, bringing total contributions for the Account since its launch in 2023 to some $16.8 million.

CERF Allocations

COUNTRY-BASED POOLED FUNDS

Allocations launched by 31 December

November and December Allocations (US$)
$188.4M
Total 2024 Allocations (US$)
$892.8M
Countries Assisted with Allocations in November and December
12

Allocation in focus: The humanitarian crisis in Sudan continues to escalate, fuelled by widespread conflict, displacement, and acute food insecurity. By the end of the year, nearly 12 million people —one-quarter of the population — have been displaced, and over 25.6 million people face acute food insecurity, with 755,000 at risk of famine. Agricultural production has been severely disrupted for a second consecutive year due to conflict, mass displacement, historic flooding, and financial instability, further undermining food security during the post-harvest season when the food security situation typically stabilizes. In response, the Sudan Humanitarian Fund launched three Reserve Allocations totalling $60.5 million in November, including $22.7 million for prepositioned funding, $7.8 million for gender-based violence programming and training, and $30 million for area-based food production, delivering critical humanitarian assistance to those in dire need.

Contributions: Total contributions concluded with an income of $1.15 billion. This amount is slightly below 2023 income levels. This excellent achievement within a highly challenging funding environment was possible thanks to additional significant contributions from some key donors, allowing the CBPFs to off-set significant reductions in contributions from other major donors. Income recorded by the various CBPFs vary considerably, with the largest recipients in terms of volume being the Sudan, Ukraine and Lebanon Humanitarian Funds. Ten new donors contributed to the CBPFs in 2024, providing $2.4 million.

CBPFs Allocations

Pooled Funds Impact Story

Helping shelter families displaced by conflict
Lebanon, Beirut and other locations.

Umm Hassan fled Nabatieh, a city in southern Lebanon, with her daughter and grandchildren after their home was damaged in a bombing. They had to drive for two days to reach Beirut, although the car journey normally takes no more than two hours. They initially slept in their car and eventually moved to a shelter in a school in Beirut’s Burj Hammoud neighborhood along with about 1,200 other people. Three quarters of Lebanon’s public schools have been serving as emergency shelters.

The confrontation between Israeli forces and Hezbollah has devastated people’s lives. Funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund is helping humanitarian organizations respond to the expanding crisis. On 14 October 2024, the CERF allocated $10 million in a Rapid Response allocation to provide immediate help to people in Lebanon affected by the crisis. This money is providing urgent food assistance, protection and shelter, safe water, and emergency health care for Umm Hassan, and thousands like her. The Rapid Response allocation helped UNHCR provide people on the move, both within Lebanon and on the borders with Syria where thousands fled, with essential supplies and critical information in partnership with local partners, including the Syrian Red Crescent. The funding also supported UNICEF to respond to water and sanitation needs in displacement sites, and to scale up education and child protection activities – giving children a bit of normality in a terrifying situation. UNICEF and Lebanese Red Cross helped make sure displaced families in Zahle and Beirut had drinking water, mattresses, sleeping bags, hygiene and baby kits with diapers and wipes.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people continue to live in uncertainty. “Half of my house was destroyed. We hope that one day we can rebuild and go back,” says Umm Hassan, who, like thousands of others, is hoping to return to safety.

More information on the CERF allocation to Lebanon.