ReliefWeb

The requirements for the Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) 2020 were $39.94 billion for 63 countries at the end of September. This is a significant increase from the $28.8 billion published on 4 December 2019 and a slight decrease from last month. The increase is due to various updates and changes since the launch, and the Global Response Plan for COVID-19 (GHRP) published on 25 March and updated on 7 May and 17 July. The change in requirements since last month is due to minor changes in the Colombia, Ethiopia, Lebanon (Flash Appeal) and the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), reflecting adjustments in both COVID and non-COVID requirements.

As of the end of September, funding for the plans included in the GHO had reached $12.89 billion, or 32 per cent of total requirements. This is $1.64 billion more than at the end of August. Total GHO funding, including the GHRP, is significantly higher this year than at the same time in 2019. Current GHO funding is 71 per cent of the total GHO funding recorded for 2019 ($18.10 billion).

Despite this high level of funding in absolute terms, requirements have grown significantly, with current requirements $13.37 billion greater than at the same time last year. The percentage of needs covered (32 per cent) is lower now than at the end of September 2019 and the average end-September coverage 2016-2019 (42 per cent). Until the sharp increases in the July GHRP update, monthly GHO coverage in 2020 was on par with the same points in time last year.

An additional $6.57 billion has been reported for activities outside the GHO or is awaiting allocation, bringing the total reported humanitarian funding to $19.46 billion, which is $2.09 billion higher than the amount reported one month ago. Total reported humanitarian funding in 2020 is currently higher than at the end of September 2019. It is 79 per cent of total reported humanitarian funding in 2019 ($24.77 billion).

As of end September, the plans in the GHO, including the GHRP, aimed to provide assistance to 259.2 million of the 433 million people in need. This is almost triple the number of people in need at the end of September 2019, and nearly one and a half times more than the people to receive assistance through the coordinated plans.

Following a Senior Officials’ Meeting on 8 September, a virtual Ministerial Roundtable on the Sahel co-hosted by Denmark, Germany and the European Union, will take place on Tuesday, 20 October, with a series of side events taking place in the week leading up to the Roundtable. The high-level event aims to mobilize both urgently needed funding and policy commitments to address humanitarian challenges and growing needs in the region. For more information: www.unocha.org/centralsahel2020. The humanitarian community estimates requirements of $1.4 billion to deliver life-saving assistance for Central Sahel for the remainder of this year and in 2021.

Prevention and response to gender-based violence (GBV) remains a key priority for humanitarian agencies. This is particularly true in the context of COVID-19 which has deepened existing vulnerabilities and inequalities. Innovative approaches to ensure the continuity of services have been put in place, yet the gap between requirements and funding remains large. The requirements for gender programming/GBV prevention and response in 19 plans / countries in the GHO are $409.6 million. As of end September, funding against these requirements totaled $44.6 million. An additional $25.3 million for GBV has been reported for GHO countries / plans that have not specified requirements.