Global Humanitarian Overview 2024

Other plans

In 2024, UNHCR and IOM will co-lead the Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh and the regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) for refugees and migrants from Venezuela. In addition, IOM will continue leading the inter-agency Migrant Response Plan for the Horn of Africa and Yemen (MRP). In total these three plans cover 24 countries.

Horn of Africa and Yemen (MRP)

People in Need at launch (Dec. 2023)
2.2 million
People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2023)
1.4 million
Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2023)
$112.2 million
Type of appeal
Migrant Response Plan
Countries covered
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen

Analysis of context, crisis and needs

The Horn of Africa and Yemen is a region of origin, transit and destination for thousands of men, women, boys and girls pushed to migrate by socio-economic challenges, climate change, conflict and instability. Most of the tracked movements originate in Ethiopia (71%) and Somalia (13%), with 153,000 migrants who had exited Ethiopia by mid-2023. In parallel, the number of arrivals to Yemen from the Horn of Africa between January and September 2023 has reached 92,357, surpassing the 2022 numbers by 26 per cent. The Eastern Route to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other gulf states via Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen is the busiest and riskiest route in the region. Migration along this route is bi-directional, including both outward migration and return movements. A growing number of Ethiopian and Somali migrants are also moving along the Southern Route toward South Africa via Kenya and Tanzania. Although such movements remain largely unmonitored, an estimated 64,525 migrants have travelled along this route in 2023.

While socio-economic drivers are the top reason for migrating, a complex interrelation of factors, including the adverse effect of climate change, environmental pressure, overpopulation, protracted conflicts and political instability are shaping mobility in the region. In particular, the Horn of Africa has grappled with the most severe drought in the past four decades, exacerbating already dire economic conditions. This environmental catastrophe, which affected over 32.1 million people, has decimated agricultural output, leading to food scarcity and soaring prices for essential commodities. The resultant food insecurity has further deepened the vulnerability of communities, prompting many to embark on perilous journeys towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in search of more stable livelihoods and improved living conditions.

Migrants’ irregular status and the harsh condition of the journey exacerbate their vulnerabilities, exposing them to life-threatening circumstances. Along both routes, migrants face harsh physical conditions and considerable protection risks, including human trafficking, arbitrary detention, discrimination, xenophobic attacks, and involuntary returns. Extreme weather conditions and limited access to food, water, and medical care expose migrants to life-threatening situations, further exacerbated by ongoing conflict and insecurity in certain areas.

Migration flows along the Eastern and the Southern Route are predicted to increase in 2024. The impacts of droughts and instability in the Horn of Africa are expected to exacerbate living conditions in communities of origin and host communities, resulting in additional outward movements and heightened migrant vulnerabilities.

Response priorities in 2024

According to preliminary data from January to September 2023, MRP partners have reached 191,673 beneficiaries across Ethiopia (127,829), Yemen (18,188), Somalia (22,320) and Djibouti (23,336). Migrant men, women, boys, and girls accounted for approximately 84 per cent of beneficiaries, along with host community members (15.6%) and government officials (0.4%). Interventions aligned with the MRP 2023 Strategic Objectives and included the provision of life-saving assistance (Objective 1); quality, timely, and inclusive protection assistance, and services (Objective 2); the strengthening of access to safe and voluntary return, sustainable reintegration, and community stabilization (Objective 3); and the building of evidence, partnerships, and coordination to enhance the humanitarian response and migration management throughout the migration route (Objective 4).

While 2024 areas of intervention remain the same, the heightened needs of migrants and host community along the Southern route warrants an expansion of the response. As a reflection of the sizeable number of migrants stranded along this route, Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania have been included in the MRP.

Humanitarian needs include lifesaving assistance for departing and transiting migrants, as well as migrants at destination and returnees and individual and community reintegration support, including economic empowerment, training and education initiatives. Assistance to host communities is also essential to streamline reintegration efforts and to prevent further irregular migration, combined with effective awareness raising initiatives. Activities contributing to Humanitarian Development Peace Collaboration, border management, health system enhancement, policy development, and labor migration pathways will also be emphasized in 2024.

Horn of Africa and Yemen Regional

Rohingya Joint Response Plan (JRP)

People in Need at launch (Dec. 2023)
1.6 million
People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2023)
1.3 million
Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2023)
$872.7 million
Type of appeal
Joint Response Plan
Countries covered
Bangladesh
Refugees targeted
1.0 million
Host communities (directly and indirectly) targeted:
300,000

Analysis of context, crisis and needs

For several decades, Bangladesh has been providing safety to Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. This was particularly notable in the aftermath of the events of August 2017, when thousands of Rohingya were forced to flee their homes due to armed attacks, massive scale violence, targeted persecution, and serious human rights violations. While the local host communities, particularly in Cox’s Bazar have responded generously to the influx of Rohingya refugees, existing socio-economic challenges, high levels of inflation and the pressures on public services and infrastructure from the large refugee presence has exacerbated their needs.

Bangladesh is among the countries most at risk to weather-related hazards, and the Rohingya refugee camps on the coast of the Bay of Bengal are extremely vulnerable to flooding, landslides, fire outbreaks, cyclones, and the adverse impacts of climate change. These hazards have a devastating impact on the congested camps, which are made of fragile materials and have impacted thousands of refugees and Bangladeshis in the past years.

As of 31 October 2023, there were over 960,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, residing in thirty-three camps formally designated by the Government of Bangladesh in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas in the Cox’s Bazar District, as well as on the island of Bhasan Char. In addition, approximately 540,000 Bangladeshis reside in the two Upazilas where the refugee camps are located.

A dignified and sustainable return to Myanmar remains the primary solution to the crisis. Until refugees can safely and voluntarily do so, the need for consistent and predictable support in Bangladesh remains key to prevent a broader humanitarian crisis. The Refugee Influx Emergency Vulnerability Assessment (REVA-6) indicates that 95 per cent of all Rohingya households are moderately to highly vulnerable and remain entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance. Results of the Joint Multi-Sector Needs Assessments, Bhasan Char Needs Assessment, and sector-specific assessments over the past years show that the most reported needs for Rohingya refugees are access to food, shelter, protection, access to energy, skills and capacity building activities, and accessible quality health care, and education. Women, girls, and boys, who make up more than 78 per cent of the refugee population, are particularly vulnerable to risks of abuse, exploitation, and gender-based violence, made worse by an increase in security-related incidents in the camps in 2023, including killings and violence by criminal groups involved in illegal activities. In Bhasan Char, along with the needs highlighted above, the remoteness and isolation of the island reinforce the need for integrated mental health and psychosocial support services in primary healthcare facilities and at community level.

Strategic objectives and sectoral priorities 2024

Under the leadership of the Government of Bangladesh, the humanitarian community has been supporting Rohingya refugees and the vulnerable Bangladeshi host communities around the refugee camps over several years. In 2023, continued registration efforts have ensured that refugees have access to assistance and protection. This has allowed the identification of refugees with specific needs and their referral to appropriate services and support, including specialized services targeting women, girls, and boys as well as persons with disabilities. Shelter and camp coordination and camp management services have sought to sustain dignified living conditions in the camps and support the community in preparing and responding to disasters. Access to food and efforts to manage malnutrition rates continued to be prioritized, as well as the delivery of a minimum package of essential health services. Maintenance and expansion of WASH facilities remained a critical intervention.

In parallel, focus increased on education through the Myanmar Curriculum as well as the provision of skills development following the Government’s endorsement of the Skills Development Framework in 2022. This Framework aims to roll-out a coherent and inclusive programme building skills and capacity for Rohingya commensurate with opportunities available in Myanmar to prepare for voluntary and sustainable repatriation and reintegration in Myanmar. The Government also endorsed the Guidance on the Engagement of Volunteers, reinforcing the key role that Rohingya and Bangladeshi host community volunteers play in the response.

Until the conditions allow for their return to Myanmar in a safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable manner, the needs of refugees in Bangladesh remain significant and urgent, and the Government of Bangladesh and the humanitarian community require robust and sustained international support to provide lifesaving protection and assistance. The 2024 JRP seeks US$872.7 million to support one million Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char, and 300,000 vulnerable host communities living in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas.

In continuation of the 2023 objectives of the JRP, five strategic objectives will guide the response in 2024:

  1. Work towards the sustainable and voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, focusing on developing refugees’ capacities through the Myanmar Curriculum, building skills that will support their reintegration upon return, and strengthening community-based efforts.
  2. Strengthen the protection of Rohingya refugee women, men, girls, and boys, placing affected individuals and communities at the centre of the response and strengthening support systems.
  3. Deliver life-saving assistance to populations in need, including access to critical services such as food, water, health, and safe and dignified camp living conditions.
  4. Foster the well-being of host communities to promote peaceful coexistence, including through facilitating access to quality services, strengthening of public service infrastructure, and supporting livelihoods activities.
  5. Strengthen disaster risk management by improving preparedness for multi-hazard crises and addressing the impacts of climate change within refugee camps and host communities.

In 2024, a distinct focus will be placed on rationalization and streamlining of the humanitarian response, based on minimum quality metrics and standardization, with a view to ensuring equitable and predictable assistance to refugees across all camps in a protracted context. Cross-cutting issues will be reinforced across programmes, including but not limited to gender, diversity and disability inclusion, accountability to affected populations, protection of sexual exploitation and abuse, and environment and climate change.

Rohingya Regional

Venezuela (RMRP)

People in Need at launch (Dec. 2023)
8.9 million
People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2023)
2.9 million
Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2023)
$1.6 billion
Type of appeal
Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan
Countries covered
Argentina, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay
Refugees and migrants targeted
2.2 million
Host community members targeted
387,200

Analysis of context, crisis and needs

Five years after the first Regional Inter-Agency Response Plan for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (RMRP) was launched, humanitarian needs remain and departures from Venezuela still significantly outnumber returns, resulting in more than 7.7 million leaving their homeland. In countries of destination and transit, Venezuelan refugees and migrants – including new arrivals, those engaged in onward movements, and those struggling to achieve stability in their host countries – have significant humanitarian assistance, protection and integration needs. The Refugee and Migrant Needs Analysis (RMNA) for 2023 estimates that 4.2 million (67.8 per cent) of the more than 6.5 million refugees and migrants from Venezuela who reside in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), have unmet needs such as food, shelter, access to documentation, decent employment and education.

Integration, protection, and food security are among the three most urgent needs for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, with 15 RMRP countries prioritizing integration, 12 emphasizing protection and 10 focusing on food security. In terms of integration, barriers to accessing the formal labour market and income-generating opportunities prevent refugees and migrants from earning decent livelihoods and becoming self-reliant, but also make them more susceptible to exploitation and abuse. They need protection from these and other threats to their safety and dignity, including human trafficking and smuggling, gender-based violence (GBV), and detention and deportation, with those in an irregular situation facing elevated risks. Although many host countries have facilitated access to legal status or initiated regularization initiatives for Venezuelans, some 40 per cent of refugees and migrants in-destination remain in an irregular situation.

In addition, the region is seeing an unprecedented trend of onward movements of refugees and migrants, in particular on a northward trajectory, through Central and North America: a growing number (up to 60 per cent) represent new departures from Venezuela, while the remainder (some 40 per cent) are onward movements of refugees and migrants who have been unable to integrate in host countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. As of end-September 2023, over 400,000 refugees and migrants had crossed irregularly from Colombia to Panama through the perilous Darien jungle, out of whom over 260,000 were Venezuelans. These in-transit movements have resulted in unprecedented pressures on host communities’ capacities to receive and address the needs of refugees and migrants along these routes. This has also resulted in the RMRP response expanding to cover the needs of other nationalities of refugees and migrants in-transit in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, an estimated 86 per cent having unmet needs in areas such as humanitarian transportation, shelter, WASH, and protection.

Strategic objectives and sectoral priorities 2024

Under the current multi-year RMRP (2023-2024), as of October 2023, over 1.8 million people across 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have received some form of assistance, representing 51.5 per cent of the target for 2023. More than 830,000 people received general protection support, over 800,000 received food assistance, and more than 470,000 received health assistance from RMRP partners so far in 2023.

Based on the needs identified through the RMNA 2023, the RMRP update for 2024 will focus on providing urgent humanitarian assistance to refugees and migrants in-transit (including multiple nationalities using the same transit routes) and on stabilization and integration support for Venezuelan refugees and migrants in-destination. The response strategy is also based on planning assumptions determined through consultation with more than 230 R4V partners across the region. These include anticipated ongoing departures from Venezuela, increasing by 10 per cent in 2024 in comparison to 2023. onward movements from/among host countries, increasingly northwards and along irregular routes, given the challenging socio-economic situation in host countries (which limit stability and integration). Planning also assumes limited regular pathways (which prevent regular movements and enhance human trafficking and smuggling networks) and limited and largely exploratory returns to Venezuela, in addition to the direct removals/deportations from the USA and other countries.

The Plan is structured around three strategic objectives:

  1. Provide and improve safe and dignified access to essential goods and critical services in synergy with sustainable development assistance.
  2. Enhance the prevention and mitigation of protection risks and respond to corresponding needs through supporting the protection environment in affected countries.
  3. Increase resilience, socio-economic integration opportunities, social cohesion, and inclusive participatory processes to improve living standards of affected populations.

The 2024 update of the RMRP will target 2.9 million refugees and migrants and affected host community members in 17 countries to receive assistance through 14,829 activities of 248 appealing partners, with total financial requirements of US$ 1.59 billion. This is a growth of 8.8 per cent in the number of partners compared to last year, including 66 refugee- and migrant-led organizations (or 26.6 per cent of partners). The growth in refugee- and migrant-led organizations participating in the RMRP reflects the commitment to localization and accountability to and empowerment of affected populations to act as main agents of change in their communities.

Moreover, protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) remains a priority in the 2024 response, with four key activity areas for its prevention and two for the response to SEA organized at the regional level by the PSEA Task Force. Activities for prevention of SEA include conducting joint SEA risk assessments, supporting R4V partner organizations in their commitment to establish or enhance policies, strategies, tools and guidance to prevent SEA. Activities also include disseminating PSEA information to affected populations and institutionalizing PSEA as the core business of R4V National and Sub-regional Platforms. To improve the SEA response, activities will include working together with Child Protection, GBV and Human Trafficking & Smuggling Sub-Sectors to promote the inclusion of referral pathways for survivors of SEA at the national and local levels. Efforts will also include promotion of the development of PSEA inter-agency SOPs and community-based complaints mechanisms (CBCMs) through a practical step-by-step toolkit. Given severe underfunding of PSEA initiatives in the RMRP 2023, several multi-year strategies originally envisioned need implementation in 2024.

Multiple countries, Ecuador and Peru in particular, anticipate the impacts of a strong El Niño in 2024 affecting their response dynamics, including by aggravating needs among refugees and migrants and vulnerable host communities, and complicating humanitarian access (due to flooding, landslides and other extreme weather events). These countries outline in their respective RMRP chapters how activities for 2024 will take these environmental dynamics into account. Meanwhile, at the regional level, there will be renewed efforts to better mainstream environmental considerations across the RMRP response, including by working to move from a sector-centered environmental mainstreaming model to a country-centered one. This will be done by analyzing and mapping existing structural environmental vulnerabilities – both in the natural and built environment – at the country and local level and building response solutions and community resilience together with refugees and migrants and host communities. Focus will also be placed on promoting “nature-based solutions” such as green job initiatives as part of local integration efforts. This will be accomplished through capacity-building and advocacy facilitated by the regional R4V environmental focal point, as part of a multi-year strategy.

Details of all RMRP 2024 response activities, including partner organizations, geographical areas, thematic sectors, and targeted beneficiaries (with disaggregation by age/gender/population group), are available on the Data and Information Page of R4V.info and on the R4V Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX). A searchable database of all activities included in the RMRP (the Activity Explorer), as well as a 5Ws Monitoring Dashboard to track implementation of the response provide further transparency and promote accountability to all stakeholders.

Venezuela Regional

References

  1. Refugee Influx Emergency Vulnerability Assessment (REVA-6) Report, June 2023, available here.
  2. Note: Financial requirements, people in need and people targeted for the 2024 JRP are preliminary and pending finalization and approval by partners and the host country.
  3. Updated population statistics, reported by host countries and compiled by R4V are available at: https://www.r4v.info/en/refugeeandmigrants
  4. According to the number of people in need identified per sector in each country in the RMNA 2023, https://rmrp.r4v.info/rmna2023/
  5. See hereto: R4V Movements Report: Third Quarter 2023, https://www.r4v.info/en/movements-report-q3-2023
  6. Refugees and migrants of other nationalities who are in-transit in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Peru are also targeted under the RMRP response in 2024. Country specific in-transit figures (PiNs and targets) are available in the RMRP, available at: https://r4v.info.