Humanitarian agencies face US$ 2.25 billion shortfall

(NEW-YORK / GENEVA: 15 June 2004)

• The United Nations need US$ 2.25 billion until the end of the year to address the critical needs of 49.4 million people affected by 25 crises in Africa, Europe and Asia.
  At the launch of the Consolidated Humanitarian Appeals last November, United Nations humanitarian agencies and their NGO partners appealed for some US$ 2.95 billion to reach vulnerable populations around the world in 2004. To date, only US$ 696.8 million has been received.

"The humanitarian community faces a shortfall of US$ 2.25 billion for implementing its programmes for the rest of the year. The response so far is too little too late for millions of victims in forgotten emergencies. Timely and increased funding is essential for effective response," said Jan Egeland, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Despite generous contributions from many donors, the financing of humanitarian aid remains inadequate and unpredictable for aid agencies. 168 humanitarian organisations are working together to provide protection and assistance and their joint programmes are currently only 23.6% funded. This is much lower than at the same time in both 2003 and 2002, when humanitarian programs were funded at approximately 33%.

Prompt and equitable funding is needed. The percentage of requirements funded in the 2004 CAP ranges from 49.5% to 1.7%. Burundi 14.9%, Sudan 14.9%, Zimbabwe 12.8%, Guinea 10.2%, Sierra Leone 9.9%, Côte d'Ivoire 6.3%, Indonesia 2.2%, and Madagascar 1.7%, to mention a few, have received the lowest responses.

Six months after the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) launch, the Mid Year Review details the funding response to date to the 2004 CAP. It reviews the measures that have been taken over the past months to strengthen humanitarian action and ensure that people in need receive on time the best protection and assistance.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) manages the CAP, a United Nations led mechanism created a decade ago by the United Nations General Assembly to ensure strategic and coordinated humanitarian response to crises.

Through the CAP, the international humanitarian community seeks to support governments in fulfilling their responsibility to assist and protect people in need.

For further information, please call: Brian Grogan, OCHA NY, 212 963 1143; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, 41 22 917 2653, mobile 41(0) 79 473 4570.