The Global Humanitarian Overview 2021 presented initial funding requirements of $35 billion to assist 160 million of the 235 million people in need of humanitarian aid.

By mid-November, 2021 requirements had grown to $37.7 billion for inter-agency plans in 60 countries following the finalization of several response plans in the first quarter of the year; adjustments to some HRPs due to changing situations (Ethiopia and South Sudan); the new HRPs for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras; and Flash Appeals and other inter-agency emergency plans for Afghanistan, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Madagascar, Myanmar, Northern Ethiopia, and oPt. This amount is only $873 million less than the previous record for requirements of $38.6 billion in 2020.

Funding gap (2014-2021)

Despite high levels of contributions this year - $17.2 million or 46 per cent of requirements – the $20.5 billion gap between requirements and funding is the highest ever. Funding shortages plagued humanitarian agencies throughout the year, especially as scale-up was required for several emergencies including Afghanistan and Ethiopia, and the on-going effects of the COVID-19 crisis continued to impact vulnerable communities. The global rise in food insecurity and efforts to avert the risk of famine through multi-sector response also put strains on budget planning and existing resources.

Monthly evolution of funding coverage (2019-2021)

The monthly evolution of GHO percentage coverage remained similar to both pre-pandemic and pandemic levels throughout much of the year. If the trend remains the same, final 2021 coverage will likely remain below the 63 per cent coverage in 2019, and close to the 50 per cent coverage in 2020.

High-Level Resource Mobilization Events coordinated by OCHA

Several high-level events were held in 2021 to raise awareness and mobilize resources for major crises. The Virtual High-level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen took place on 1 March and 37 announcements of financial assistance were made, totaling $1.67 billion. The Fifth Brussels V Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region was held on 30 March. Participants announced pledges for both Syria and the region: $4.4 billion for 2021 and multi-year pledges of close to $2 billion for 2022 and beyond. The High-level Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan was held on 13 September. Although it was not a formal pledging event, expressions of financial support of more than $1.2 billion for the people of Afghanistan were made by numerous Member States and other participants.