The Pulse of Humanitarian Coordination 2024

National-level Inter-Cluster Coordination Groups (ICCGs)

With the exception of Iraq and Libya, which had deactivated clusters in prior years, all other operations surveyed in 2024 had an active national-level ICCG. This operational coordination body, chaired by OCHA and reporting to the HCT, plays a key role in ensuring cross-cluster collaboration. ICCGs help identify and address delivery gaps and contribute to improving the overall efficiency of humanitarian coordination.

Membership

The average size of national-level ICCGs has seen a considerable increase since 2021, rising from 28 members in 2021 to 37 members in 2024. The operations with the largest ICCGs included Myanmar (69 members, up from 30 in 2023), Afghanistan (64 members, up from 58 in 2023), and Chad (62 members, up from 16 in 2023). Other notable ICCG size changes between 2023 and 2024 included South Sudan (43 members, down from 65) and CAR (decreased from 59 to 40 members).

The composition of national-level ICCGs remained varied in 2024, generally including cluster coordinators, information management officers (IMOs), technical advisers and others. On average, cluster coordinators made up the highest global average (37%), followed by cluster facilitators (16%), sub-group chairs (15%) and IMOs (13%). NNGOs & NNGO Consortia, agency emergency coordinators, government stakeholders were among the least represented in terms of membership – noting, however, that L/NNGO presence is further captured among cluster co-coordinators, co-chairs and co-facilitators.

ICCGs were predominantly chaired by OCHA Heads or Deputy Heads of Office (52%), while 48 per cent were chaired by Heads of Coordination Units in OCHA Country Offices. This represents a continued reduction in ICCGs chaired by OCHA senior management, from 64 per cent in 2023 and 67 per cent in 2022.

In 2024, the number of local and national actors serving as ICCG coordinators, co-chairs, or facilitators increased to 40, up from 32 in 2023. The proportion of these roles held by local/national actors also rose to 8 per cent, though still below the peak of 11 percent recorded in 2022, indicating that more deliberate efforts are needed to sustain and scale this progress. Additionally, L/NNGOs held cluster leadership positions (co-coordinator, co-facilitator, co-chair) in 15 operations.

ICCGs have become increasingly inclusive. In 2024, L/NNGOs have also seen a steady rise in engagement, with their participation increasing to 56 per cent in 2024. When considering all local and national actors, the upward trend continues: the proportion of ICCGs in which local and national actors participate reached 85% of ICCGs in 2024, compared to 75% in 2023.

Four operations had no local or national actors in their ICCGs in 2024: Haiti, Mozambique, Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt), and Madagascar. Meanwhile, international NGO participation rose slightly to 67 per cent of ICCGs from 57 per cent in 2023.

Meeting frequency and focus

The frequency of ICCG meetings varied depending on the operation. In 2024, 59 per cent of ICCGs convened once every two weeks (up from 57%). The percentage of ICCGs meeting on a monthly basis dropped to 19 per cent in 2024 (from 25%), while the percentage of ICCGs meeting on an ad-hoc basis, or irregular basis increased to 7 per cent (up from 4% in 2023). Weekly meetings were held in 15 per cent of operations, including CAR, Sudan, oPt, and Venezuela.

ICCGs spent significantly less time on processes related to the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC), dedicating 22 per cent of time to this area of work (down from 31% in 2023). More time was spent on other areas of work (12 per cent compared to 6 per cent in 2023), with ICCGs also reporting dedicating time to discussing feedback from affected people (7%) and supporting sub national coordination (10%) . In comparison to 2023, less time was dedicated to joint operational priorities and multisectoral response (down to 17% from 22% in 2023), which can be attributed to reports from Somalia, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Tools and policies

ICCGs reported decreasing emphasis on the development of annual workplans and terms of reference. The share of ICCGs with terms of reference declined from 96 per cent to 93 per cent. Similarly, the proportion with annual workplans dropped sharply from 54 per cent to 37 per cent, marking a notable decrease compared to 60 per cent in 2021.

References

  1. Note: Two questions were added to the 2024 survey: time dedicated to a) supporting subnational coordination, and b) discussing feedback from affected people, which may have slightly affected the distribution of time across individual areas.