In 2019 - 132 million people across the world will need urgent humanitarian assistance by UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs, agencies 9:22am 7th Dec, 2018   Dec. 2018    In 2019 - 132 million people across the world will need urgent humanitarian assistance, by Mark Lowcock - UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs    Today, We are launching the authoritative Global Humanitarian Overview 2019 (GHO), which outlines what the humanitarian and donor communities must do to assist and protect the world's most vulnerable crisis-affected people.    In 2019, nearly 132 million people in 42 countries will require humanitarian assistance and protection. The United Nations and humanitarian partner organizations aim to assist nearly 94 million of the most vulnerable among these people.    The total funding needed for the Global Humanitarian response plans this year, including Syria, is expected to be comparable to the 2018 requirements of $25 billion.    The humanitarian situation in some places, such as in Burkina Faso and Senegal, has begun to stabilize. But a number of crises require a scale-up in the response. The crisis in Yemen has worsened dramatically, and we will need to provide assistance to 15 million people in the country in 2019. In Afghanistan, where the situation had been expected to improve this year, needs have instead increased because of drought, political instability and returning refugees.    Next year, humanitarian funding requirements will be dominated by eight crises: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The funding reflects what is required to alleviate horrific suffering and assist communities to build their resilience and begin to move beyond protracted or recurring crises.    The Global Humanitarian Overview is the world's most comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of global humanitarian needs, response and requirements. It is based on detailed analysis of data, extensive assessments, and consultations with the humanitarian organizations and the other stakeholders in each affected country.    Since taking up my post as UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator last year, I have travelled to 18 countries and seen first-hand how the humanitarian community remains incredibly effective at alleviating suffering.    In 2019, as in preceding years, the principal driver of human suffering is protracted armed conflict and the mass displacement it generates. We have seen little political progress in addressing the underlying problems of humanitarian crises, principally poverty, development and governance failures and the impacts of climate change. In 2018, 94 per cent of funding received has been for responses to crises lasting longer than five years.    The average length of Humanitarian Response Plans - the individual country plans which make up the global GHO - have increased from five years in 2014 to more than nine in 2018. Large, protracted crises command the majority of need. Between 2014 and 2018, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria accounted for 55 per cent of all funding received.    Humanitarian costs are also high because the services that humanitarians provide are more comprehensive than ever. In many places, we have become the default providers of basic services.    This year the funding we received from donors towards humanitarian appeals enabled us to protect and save tens of millions of lives.    Each month for instance, humanitarians are reaching 8 million Yemenis with food assistance, and 5.4 million people in Syria with supplies, medical assistance and protection. Aid workers continue to do all they can to assist people in need, even amid mounting threats to their safety.    Our assistance is more efficient, effective and accountable than ever. But humanitarian need does not look set to decrease any time soon, and given that, we must not only address immediate critical needs but foster action to reduce them. We must shift from response to prevention and early action to prevent large-scale crises. This can not only save lives but also significantly reduces response costs.    Tens of millions of people across the globe need assistance to survive. The bottom line is that the most efficient and effective way to respond right now to the needs of the 94 million most vulnerable people is swift and generous support for the Global Humanitarian Overview.    * Access the Global Humanitarian Overview 2019 (80pp): http://bit.ly/2QuohRd    http://www.unocha.org/story/us219-billion-needed-2019-average-length-humanitarian-crises-climbs http://interactive.unocha.org/publication/datatrends2018/ http://www.irinnews.org/news/2018/12/04/un-appeals-record-4-billion-help-people-yemen    Nov. 2018    Projected Food Assistance needs to May 2019    The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is a leading provider of early warning and analysis on food insecurity. This November brief summarizes FEWS NET's most forward-looking analysis of projected emergency food assistance needs in FEWS NET coverage countries to May 2019.    The projected size of each country's acutely food insecure population is compared to last year and the recent five-year average. Countries where external emergency food assistance needs are anticipated are identified.    Across 46 countries, at least 83 million people will require emergency food assistance in 2019. The largest food security emergency will continue to be in Yemen, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, and Sudan. South Sudan, Yemen, and Nigeria will continue to face a risk of Famine.    * Projected Food Assistance needs to May 2019: http://bit.ly/2AEIFFf    * This map represents the number of people who are expected to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) acute food insecurity or worse across 28 countries in May 2019: http://bit.ly/2E8v8tG Visit the related web page
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