Global Humanitarian Overview 2025, January Update (Snapshot as of 31 January 2025)
12 Feb 2025
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Summary
Inter-Agency Coordinated Appeals: January Update
2025
People in Need
307.6M
People Targeted
186.1M
Requirements (US$)
$44.70B
Appeals
43
As of end-January, the 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) presents consolidated funding requirements of $44.70 billion to assist 186.1 million of the 307.6 million people in need in 72 countries. This is a decrease from the $46.55 required at the same time last year. The Middle East and North African region requires $12.73 billion, the largest total for any region in 2025, and accounts for 28 per cent of the Global Humanitarian Overview. East and Southern Africa requires $11.64 billion, while the appeals for West and Central Africa call for $8.25 billion. Asia and the Pacific will require $5.17 billion, Eastern Europe $3.33 billion, and Latin America and the Caribbean $3.56 billion.
Reporting on funding for the current year has begun, with $1.49 billion reported for the GHO and an additional $2.15 billion reported for other humanitarian activities.
Timely reporting of humanitarian contributions from donors and recipients is crucial to provide reliable and complete data for trend analysis. All partners are encouraged to report funding to the Financial Tracking Service (fts@un.org).
2024
Requirements (US$)
$49.59B
Inter-Agency Appeals Funding (US$)
$23.27B
Appeals Coverage
47%
Total Humanitarian Funding (US$)
$33.06B
Funding for the 2024 GHO reached $23.27 billion, or 47 per cent of the $49.59 billion required. The largest amount of GHO funding was recorded for the Middle East and North African region with $7.04 billion, followed by $5.45 billion for the East and Southern Africa region and $4.29 billion for the West and Central Africa region. An additional $9.79 billion was reported for other humanitarian activities, bringing the total funding recorded in 2024 to $33.06 billion.
Upcoming Events
The Joint Launch of the 2025 Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) and the Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) for Sudan will take place on Monday, 17 February 2025, from 15:00 to 16:30 Geneva (CET) at the Palais des Nations, Room XXIV, and will be livestreamed on UNWebTV. The event is co-convened by Mr. Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and Mr. Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The Sudan HNRP requires $4.16 billion to assist 20.9 million people in need. The RRP requires $1.8 billion to assist 4.8 million refugees, third-country nationals and host community members in Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, Libya, Uganda, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.
Syria Humanitarian Response Priorities (January-March 2025)
People in Need
16.5M
People Targeted
6.7M
Requirements (US$)
$1.2B
The 2025 Syria Humanitarian Response Priorities document highlights the most urgent humanitarian needs across the country and was published on 28 January 2025 for the period 1 January 2025 – 31 March 2025. The United Nations and humanitarian partners are appealing for $1.2 billion to cover the prioritized to respond to the most immediate needs of 6.7 million people targeted in the country.
This Humanitarian Response Priorities document is intended to cover current programming requirements. The humanitarian community will continue to monitor the rapidly shifting conditions on the ground, including political and socio-economic developments, and assess their impact on humanitarian needs and the nature and scope of humanitarian programming for the rest of 2025.
The 2024 Syria Humanitarian Response Plan was severely underfunded, with only 34 per cent of the $4.1 billion requirements covered, a decrease from the 41 per cent coverage in 2023. It is imperative that in 2025, at this pivotal moment in the history of Syria, the international community responds effectively to the needs of the Syrian people including through increasing their financial support. Despite stretched funding, the United Nations and humanitarian partners are committed to continue delivering humanitarian aid, seizing opportunities while remaining vigilant in the face of challenges and their impacts on peoples’ needs.
Humanitarian Response Plans (2025): Funding Status as of January
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Anticipatory Action: Effective and Efficient Humanitarian Action
In an era of escalating crises and resource constraints, acting ahead of predictable disasters offers a powerful source of hope. Anticipatory action (AA) is about impact and optimism about the future. It empowers vulnerable communities to mitigate imminent disasters, saves lives, preserves dignity, and safeguardes development gains. It leverages data and technology to capture efficiencies, delivering tangible results for people, finances, and systems.
Consider for instance Shaheda’s story from Bangladesh. Last July, she received a silo drum before predicted floods from a Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)-funded project carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This allowed her to protect livestock feed, seeds and other valuables. With her livestock surviving and her seeds intact, she was able to replant her crops and secure her family’s recovery after the waters receded. In the same part of Bangladesh, Renubala used cash aid provided before the floods to buy food and materials to build a raft to protect her family and essential belongings. She was able to stay and ensured her two children’s education was uninterrupted.
Anticipatory action is not only lifesaving but also cost-efficient. By acting ahead of disasters, humanitarian efforts can minimize long-term recovery costs, protect livelihoods, and reduce logistical expenses. Small, strategic actions, like providing drought-resistant seeds or reinforcing shelters, boost resilience to future shocks and reduce aid dependency.
Pre-arranged financing and pre-planned activities ensure that resources are allocated efficiently and at the right time. Once anticipatory actions are underway, humanitarians can focus on saving and protecting lives, spending less time on bureaucracy.
Scaling up and mainstreaming
To reap these benefits, anticipatory action is expanding rapidly. By 2023, the humanitarian community counted 107 projects across 47 countries.
Between 2020 and the end of 2024, CERF cumulatively committed $224 million as pre-arranged funding for 22 anticipatory action frameworks in 20 countries and disbursed $109 million for AA framework activations.
Last year, investments to embed anticipatory action through risk-informed humanitarian response planning has also gained momentum. Some Humanitarian Response Plans (HRP) now include anticipatory action provisions, including Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mozambique, among others. Global clusters are drafting guidance and regional and national anticipatory action working groups are being set up, often as part of existing UN-coordinated structures.
Financing anticipatory action
As anticipatory action gains traction, the next challenge is ensuring sustainable and flexible funding. And while progress has been made, with financing tripling over the past three years, the full potential remains untapped, with anticipatory action representing less than one per cent of humanitarian funding currently invested. Pre-arranged financing through mechanisms like CERF and pooled funds must be expanded.
CERF currently pre-arranges some $128 million for anticipatory action frameworks and in 2024 released almost $37 million ahead of floods in Bangladesh, Chad, Nepal and Niger, and droughts in Ethiopia, Somalia and Timor Leste. While CERF is key, other humanitarian pooled funds increasingly support anticipatory action, for example, the OCHA-managed Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPF) (for example in Afghanistan and Nigeria), as well as the newly established regional pooled funds.
To meet the scale of future challenges, more flexible funding is needed. Contributions to OCHA-managed pooled funds, including CERF, the CERF Climate Action Account, the Regional Humanitarian Pooled Funds, and CBPFs, are essential to ensure resources are pre-arranged and accessible when they are most needed. Read more on Anticipatory action | OCHA.
Grand Bargain
Institutionalizing anticipatory action also requires systemic changes in the way humanitarian funding is allocated. Recognizing this, a Grand Bargain Caucus bringing together donors, UN Agencies and NGOs agreed to work together to substantially increase funding for anticipatory action; to track the funding; and to improve coordination. The work begins now to turn these commitments into deliverables.
Next article
Pooled Funds
Total 2025 Allocations (US$)
$99.5M
Countries Assisted with 2025 Allocations
6
In January 2025, the OCHA-managed Pooled Funds allocated grants to six countries for a total of $99.5 million to enable essential and life-saving humanitarian assistance. Of this amount, the Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPF) allocated $74 million, while the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocated $25.5 million.
In addition to these allocations, CERF continues to advance anticipatory action, with the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) approving a $6 million framework for cyclones in Mozambique on 17 January. Efforts are also underway to develop new frameworks for drought response in Afghanistan and Ethiopia.
For more information about allocations, see below and visit the CBPFs’ Data Hub, CERF's Data Hub and CERF's website.
CENTRAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND
Allocations endorsed by the ERC as of 31 January 2025
January Allocations (US$)
$25.5M
Total 2025 Allocations (US$)
$25.5M
Countries Assisted with Allocations in January
3
Allocations in focus: In January, CERF approved an $8 million top-up to its initial $12 million allocation to Syria in October 2024. This additional funding comes at a pivotal moment as Syria navigates a complex transition following the fall of the Assad regime. While this shift presents opportunities for recovery and stability, it also brings new humanitarian challenges that require urgent attention. The top-up expands CERF’s support to address critical gaps beyond the initial focus of the allocation, and it will enable targeted interventions in assessment and displacement tracking, education, demining and explosive ordnance risk education, food security and health. These sectors are essential to ensuring a safe and sustainable environment for affected populations, strengthening resilience, and mitigating risks during this period of transition.
Contributions: By end of January, contributions to the Central Emergency Relief Fund amounted to $385 million, compared to $434 million at the same time last year. This year’s income projection for CERF started at a low level as key donors announced funding cuts. Efforts have been increased to secure additional contributions from both long-term and new partners to address the anticipated shortfall.
CERF Allocations
COUNTRY-BASED POOLED FUNDS
Allocations launched by 31 January 2025
January Allocations (US$)
$74M
Total 2025 Allocations (US$)
$74M
Countries Assisted with Allocations in January
3
Allocation in focus: The humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is deepening amid worsening conflict, climate shocks, and multiple epidemics, leaving nearly 6.4 million people displaced. Many crisis-affected communities remain without assistance due to funding shortfalls in humanitarian operations, logistical barriers, and insecurity. To bridge these gaps, the DRC Humanitarian Fund allocated $4.7 million to deliver targeted, life-saving assistance in underserved areas, supporting food security, safe water, emergency shelter, health, and protection services, including for gender-based violence survivors and vulnerable children. With this allocation, the Fund aims to ensure a cohesive and comprehensive response that addresses immediate needs and safeguards the dignity of the most affected communities.
Recognizing the high climate vulnerability of the DRC, the Fund simultaneously allocated $1.3 million through a 48-hour rapid response initiative for prepositioned resources to enable a coordinated, life-saving response within two days of flooding. This allocation will cover emergency shelter, food, clean water, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions, while also investing in drainage systems and community training to strengthen long-term flood resilience.
Contributions: By end of January, total contributions to the Country-based Pooled Funds reached $247 million compared to $173 million received last year. Of this amount, $138 million are part of multi-year agreements from nine donors which ensure continuity for the first months of the year for all of the funds.
CBPFs Allocations
Pooled Funds Impact Story
Expanding water and hygiene best practices in vulnerable districts
Yemen, Amran governorate.
Fatima, a 36-year-old midwife who works in the village of Al Aridah in As Sawd District, was worried about the health of the mothers and children she supports.
The health of the villagers was poor, and levels of illness high, in large part due to the lack of safe water and information on best practices. “The health situation was unacceptable,” explains Fatima. “Children were sick with diarrhoea, making the malnutrition crisis even worse.”
The village lacks adequate clean water, leaving many residents without safe drinking water. As a result, most households resort to using any water they can: unfortunately, though, this is often contaminated and causes illness.
“The lack of clean water here is a long-standing problem,” says Fatima. Those who can afford it pay for water trucking. But this is an expensive luxury - the water trucks charge high fees.
With support from Yemen Humanitarian Fund (YHF), CARE has been getting the word out about better hygiene practices.
CARE shared hygiene awareness information with 22,000 people in the As Sawd sub-district, through sessions on handwashing, personal hygiene, water purification, prevention of cholera and COVID-19, human waste disposal, and the risks of open defecation to public health.
To spread the message, ten volunteers, including Fatima, conducted hygiene trainings for people in the area. Fatima learned a lot herself – and it’s knowledge she can pass on to her patients.
"Since I’ve had the training and started sharing what I know, I have noticed fewer kids getting sick in the health centre where I work," says Fatima. "Now we have a clear vision of creating a healthier future for patients.”
More information from the Yemen Humanitarian Fund.
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