Ukraine, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Sudan... and now Gaza, the increase in the number of conflicts and crises plaguing the world has placed the demand for humanitarian aid at unprecedented levels in 2022, which was 52.4 billion dollars (about 48,000 million euros). And projections indicate that it will be surpassed in 2023, with 54.9 billion dollars (about 50.3 billion euros). It is one of the conclusions included in the report Humanitarian action in 2022-2023: the climate emergency exacerbates other crises, presented this Monday by the Institute for Conflict Studies and Humanitarian Action (IECAH) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The two years analyzed by both organizations have been marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan, worsened with the arrival of the Taliban; the war in Sudan, as well as other endemic conflicts such as the war in Syria, Yemen, South Sudan or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as many others that have received less attention.
The need for aid has been aggravated by destructive earthquakes, such as those in Turkey and Syria last February, or those in Morocco (September) and Afghanistan (October); or by the effects of climate change: floods in Pakistan and Libya and fires in other parts of the world. To these, we must add the current war against the Palestinians in Gaza, which has increased calls for help from the United Nations in the last part of the year.
For all these reasons, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance exceeded 406 million people in 82 countries in 2022. "During the last decade, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance may have multiplied by four "say the authors of the report. Likewise, the number of displaced people reached 107.5 million, with Sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected region. "The acceleration of climate impacts is increasingly a factor with greater impact on humanitarian needs and internal and cross-border displacement," the document states.
The effects of climate change have worsened severe food insecurity, which continued to grow and in 2022 there will be more than 265 million people in 60 countries facing this situation, more than double the number before the pandemic. MSF emphasizes that an example of this is the volume of the NGO's activity in the treatment of malnutrition, which increased by 50% since the previous year. "However, despite the global increase, a sharp drop in funding to combat malnutrition is expected in 2024," the report warns.
In this context, the report highlights that "complex and protracted crises are becoming the norm." Afghanistan or Palestine are good examples of this. In 2022, the 44 countries suffering from a prolonged crisis situation represented 83% of the total number of people in need.
Although international humanitarian aid increased by 27% in 2022 compared to the previous year, the magnitude of global needs caused the financing deficit in this area to reach an all-time high (20.24 billion euros). As a result, only 58% of global funding requests made through United Nations appeals were met. And about a third received 50% or less of the funding requested, the report estimates. "We are witnessing a panorama that shows us a system under immense pressure to keep up with increasing demands," warns IECAH co-director Francisco Rey.
The report's authors also warn against the tendency to concentrate aid on a small number of crises. Thus, ten countries received almost two-thirds of all international humanitarian aid, with Ukraine being the main recipient (with €4,029 million) and Afghanistan the second (€3,570 million). "We have observed a dynamic by which attention to a crisis, yesterday it was Ukraine, now Gaza, ends up causing the rest to neglect both diplomatic efforts to remedy them," explains IECAH co-director Jesús A. Núñez.
The report also warns of the loss of weight of the United Nations, as a representative of the international community and its capacity to address current problems. "The war in Gaza and the impotence of the UN is the latest and dramatic proof of the dysfunctional imbalance of the United Nations, which needs to update its structure, reform its decision-making processes and provide itself with the necessary means to efficiently carry out its multiple tasks," adds Núñez. The latest humanitarian ceasefire resolutions in this institution, which have not been listened to by Israel, are proof of this.
Spanish humanitarian aid funds increased by 47% compared to the previous year, which places it at 158.48 million euros. "Spanish humanitarian action has demonstrated a certain level of commitment crystallized in advances in legislative matters, with the approval of the Cooperation Law, and a notable increase in funds, partly derived from the financing destined for the consequences of the war in Ukraine" , says Francisco Rey. In addition to Ukraine, Spain also allocated financing to the Sahrawi population, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Venezuela, Syria, Niger, Colombia, Afghanistan and Mali, among others.
