OCHA Annual Report 2019

Foreword

At the start of 2019, we anticipated that humanitarian needs for the year would be similar to 2018. But as the year went on, intensifying conflicts, climatic shocks and the spread of infectious diseases drove needs to unprecedented levels. We now face a once-in-alifetime pandemic, with the most vulnerable people already facing even more hardship due to its impact.

The humanitarian system has never been more vital, and I’m pleased that donors’ generosity has proven up to the challenge. In 2019, over US$18 billion in contributions provided life-saving aid for more than 117 million people. That generosity has helped achieve significant results. It compares with $15.8 billion in 2018, the previous record.

In 2019, OCHA co-hosted a pledging event that helped raise $2.6 billion to meet the needs of people suffering through the conflict in Yemen. OCHA’s efforts helped get humanitarian assistance to more than 13 million Yemenis each month.

Eight Southern African countries declared a state of emergency because of climate-related shocks: drought and cyclones. To support the response for cyclones Idai and Kenneth, OCHA pre-deployed emergency coordination experts and used the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to deliver quick life-saving assistance. When Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas, OCHA supported the Government’s efforts to reduce suffering and save lives.

In Burkina Faso, OCHA opened an office in the face of growing need as hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by spiralling insecurity.

In these and other emergencies, OCHA helped humanitarian organizations get ahead of crises with early action and anticipatory approaches. In Yemen, we supported a global cholera risk model to forecast the spread of disease. When two years of failed rains in Somalia led to predictions of acute hunger for 1 million people, early action to scale up assistance helped reduce deaths and human suffering, while also cutting response times and cost.

OCHA mobilized significant resources for its UN and NGO partners. For Syria, OCHA helped raise $7 billion, which enabled aid workers to reach an average of more than 5 million people every month.

OCHA’s pooled funds have been at the forefront of channelling funding to where needs are greatest. Together, Country-Based Pooled Funds and CERF allocated a record $1.5 billion across 48 countries. They also mobilized support for places where human suffering is often forgotten. A total of $200 million was channelled from CERF to 21 neglected crises, including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti, Mali, Niger and Ukraine. In 2019, for the third consecutive year, CERF received record-high pledged contributions totalling $834.6 million.

OCHA’s Global Humanitarian Overview continued to provide the most accurate assessment of needs and how best to meet them. Delivering more inclusive humanitarian action was a major focus of 2019. OCHA mobilized funding to address sexual and gender-based violence in humanitarian crises at the first conference of its kind in Oslo, co-hosted by Norway. Meanwhile, it took a whole-of-organization approach to strengthening its internal policies, systems and action on sexual exploitation and abuse. In November, with Inter-Agency Standing Committee partners, we launched Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action.

A determination to put people in need at the centre of our response triggered a shift in budget allocations away from Headquarters and towards country and regional offices. OCHA made strides in building a more agile, flexible and accountable organization by beginning a process of decentralization of staff from Headquarters in New York and Geneva to boost capacity in regional and country offices and establish cost-effective hubs in The Hague and Istanbul.

We could not have accomplished all this work without the critical support and collaboration of our partners and generous donors across the world. I thank you for your commitment to humanitarian action and to OCHA.

Mark Lowcock
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator