In 2023, ReliefWeb, the leading source of humanitarian information, remained committed in its mission to inform humanitarians worldwide. The platform experienced a deeper engagement, with 18.2 million users interacting more actively with the content. This increased interaction, despite an 11% decrease in overall users, indicates a higher investment and activity level among ReliefWeb users. During...
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Conflict in Sudan’s breadbasket threatens food supplies nationwide
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is teaming up with ReliefWeb to explain the science behind its projections of acute food insecurity and share resources related to the multi-faceted inputs that go into FEWS NET analyses.
Fighting in Sudan has spread into the country’s breadbasket, and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is warning that new disruptions to trade...
Strong early warning systems helped to predict deadly Kenya floods
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is teaming up with ReliefWeb to explain the science behind its projections of acute food insecurity and share resources related to the multi-faceted inputs that go into FEWS NET analyses.
Recent deadly floods in Kenya were forecast months ahead of time, according to scientists with the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), who...
One million posts and counting
In July this year, ReliefWeb achieved a remarkable milestone – the one-millionth humanitarian update was posted on the site. As such it adds yet another string to our bow – in 2022, we attracted a notable 20 million users.
The past few years have been significant - going to 24/7 updating of humanitarian information in 2015, launching the responsive site in 2020 to make it easier to access the site...
Where we are after a year of ReliefWeb Response
Key Figures
54 sites migrated from HumanitarianResponse.info to ReliefWeb Response Coordinated with partners in 43 countries Provided 80 hours of training to more than 1,000 users
In June 2022, the ReliefWeb Response (RW Response) platform was launched as a ReliefWeb Labs project. RW Response aggregates operational content from existing platforms and provides an authoritative source of information...
How to publish a tender on ReliefWeb (or not)
ReliefWeb is an important tool for job hunting within the humanitarian community, with one million users accessing its Jobs section in 2021. According to ReliefWeb analytics, in 2022, job postings increased by 15% to 53,004. Although most postings target individual job seekers, we also receive requests to publish a tender.
Tenders, or requests for proposals, invite organizations, suppliers and/or...
ReliefWeb in 2022: A Vital Resource in Times of Crisis
In 2022, natural disasters and human-made crises affected communities and nations across the globe more than in previous years. As the leading source of humanitarian information, ReliefWeb played a vital role in providing timely and accurate information to humanitarians responding to the needs of the affected people. ReliefWeb witnessed a significant increase in the number of users seeking...
New year, old subscriptions
With a new year upon us, this is a time for reflection, anticipation and ... inbox organisation.
ReliefWeb is a free service offered by OCHA and uses Mailchimp to disseminate blog posts. We have approximately 50,000 subscribers, half of whom didn’t open any of our emails in 2022.
To keep our contact list updated and our operating costs rationalised, we will unsubscribe those who haven’t opened any...
ReliefWeb Response goes live
ReliefWeb Response (RW Response) is our next-generation humanitarian coordination platform and is replacing HumanitarianResponse.info.
RW Response will focus on aggregating operational content from existing platforms and will provide an authoritative source of information in new and existing humanitarian operations. As the name suggests, the platform will be strongly integrated with existing...
ReliefWeb goes from strength to strength
In 2020, the sheer volume of information published on ReliefWeb relating to the Covid-19 pandemic prompted us to address half-yearly analytics but we missed out on doing so last year. With the increase in content due to the war in Ukraine, however, we decided to take another look at the user numbers and they are indeed impressive - up 12 percent on 2021 to almost 11 million for the first half of...
HR.info takes on a new form
This month, OCHA launches an upgraded version of the HumanitarianResponse.info (HR.info) platform, branded as ReliefWeb Response (RW Response), within ReliefWeb Labs. Labs projects explore new and emerging opportunities to improve information delivery to humanitarians.
RW Response will focus on aggregating operational content from existing platforms and will provide an authoritative source of...
ReliefWeb is now on Instagram and Telegram!
We’re growing one gram at a time!
You can now follow us on Instagram and Telegram to receive updates on the latest humanitarian situations and content.
With more than 120,000 followers on Twitter, 105,000 on Facebook and 26,000 on LinkedIn, we figured it was time to join other social media networks.
There is no shortage of content to feed these pages. Last year, our reports teams processed...
ReliefWeb breaks records again
Last year proved to be yet another record for ReliefWeb - our user numbers jumped by 26 percent from 2020 to just over 19 million. To put that into perspective - the total number of users in 2014 was a “mere” 4.9 million! So, thanks to the humanitarian community for making our website the “go-to” platform for all things disaster- and aid-related.
The Philippines overtook the USA (2.3 million) as...
ReliefWeb is switching its log-in protocol
At ReliefWeb, we are deeply grateful for the global visitors who use our website everyday to access lifesaving, current information about humanitarian emergencies.
We are updating our technology to Drupal 9 in light of Drupal 7's decommissioning later this year. As such, by the end of March we will also be changing our log-in system exclusively to Humanitarian ID (HID), an authentication service...
Talking Heads: ReliefWeb then and now
This month, ReliefWeb officially turns 25 - of course, the lead-up to the launch of a data-driven website in 1996 was way more complicated, but also much easier in many respects, than a similar venture in today’s tech world. But once the idea had percolated, and seed funding had been secured, it was achieved in a mere nine months.
The motivation behind ReliefWeb’s inception was the huge numbers of...
How we created a humanitarian data resource in just nine months
On the 25th anniversary of ReliefWeb, I am proud that I was part of the design team back in 1996. Thinking back on those days, I am amazed by how much has changed in the past quarter-century. In 1996, something called electronic mail and the World Wide Web were just starting to be used in the work environment. Humanitarian information products, such as SitReps, appeals, maps, and assessments,...
ReliefWeb's Early Days
ReliefWeb is now 25 years old. In a series of posts, we’ll be looking back over those years from the perspective of some of the people who helped make it what it is today. Craig Duncan, one of the first people to work on the project, remembers how it developed from a list of links – and how it found its name. Inevitably there are some technical details involved!
The ReliefWeb project had a few...
If your hiring organization is new to ReliefWeb
Dear Job Poster,
Since your organization is new to us, we need to verify that its purpose and activities are in line with ReliefWeb’s mandate. Once the job form is submitted, kindly provide us with a copy of your annual report and any relevant information about your projects and donors at jobs@reliefweb.int
It is important that you indicate your job ID and/or the link to your advertisement(s) in...
Humanitarian leadership stories
In challenging times and despite rising needs, the humanitarian system continues to save and transform lives. Strong leadership by the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators plays a crucial part in this.
Humanitarian leaders must act quickly and impartially while keeping a focus on the big picture, the external environment, the future and organizational change. In particular, the...
What’s new at ReliefWeb
It’s been a while since we checked in with our users so I wanted to let you know what ReliefWeb has been up to in the past four months. We are pleased to report that user numbers are still rising. From the first quarter of last year to the same period in 2021, the number of users increased by almost 30 percent, to just over five million. In that same period, mobile use increased by almost 39...