Foreword

It is 22 years since Development Initiatives published its first Global Humanitarian Assistance Report. Each year since 2000, the report has tracked growth in humanitarian need and the evolving shape and scale of humanitarian response. Over this time, a lot has changed, particularly with climate and conflict increasingly driving up humanitarian needs in all regions of the world.

Our 2022 report documents how the humanitarian system is being challenged as never before: facing the impacts of systemic shocks from the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, and the unstinting growth of need, with more countries enduring crisis, for longer. It also shows how, at the same time, the budgets of countries on which so much humanitarian response relies are constrained by global economic slowdown and competing domestic and international demands for funding. In 2022, the crisis in Ukraine is a predominant concern for many donors, and includes the risk of wider conflict in the region, and knock-on impacts from the conflict on a global fuel and food crisis, as well as escalating humanitarian needs.

In this context, this year’s report provides a critical, system-wide and long-term overview of how financing has been organised and delivered to respond to crises. We analyse how the demand for and cost of humanitarian assistance remains historically high, how total funding has plateaued (Chapter 2) and how the donor base on which the system rests remains shallow and precarious (Chapter 3). The GHA Report 2022 also summarises findings from new, in-depth research on gender-related funding, the role of private donors, and localisation (in terms of funding and indirect cost-sharing).

Given the increasing number of countries experiencing recurrent, protracted crisis, the report considers the increasingly important role of multilateral development banks in countries experiencing crisis, and their relationship with humanitarian response. As development budgets are squeezed to provide more humanitarian assistance, it is critical that we retain sight of the need for both immediate lifesaving support and also the long-term assistance that enables those in need to recover, adapt and break the cycle of enduring crisis.

This report also explores the interconnections between responses to climate change and humanitarian crisis. It examines the exposure of people in need of humanitarian assistance to climate risks, and unpacks how climate and humanitarian finance are related. Finally, we continue to provide unique analysis of efforts to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian financing, as the Grand Bargain agreement between donors and humanitarian organisations enters its second phase. This year’s GHA Report includes updated analysis on funding to local actors, cash assistance and flexible funding.

At Development Initiatives, we have recently emerged from a period of strategic planning, setting a new course for the next decade of our work in response to ever-changing and growing global challenges. The GHA Report remains a key resource for the wider crisis-financing community and we will continue to ensure that it equips our partners with robust and meaningful data-driven evidence to support action on some of the most pressing challenges of our time. We hope that this year’s report provides you with the reliable, relevant evidence that you need, moving towards our shared goals of building resilient communities and reducing the incidence and impacts of crisis.