TWN Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (Aug25/04)
12 August 2025
Third World Network

UN: Historic aid shortfall putting millions of vulnerable people at risk
Published in SUNS #10280 dated 11 August 2025

Penang, 8 Aug (Kanaga Raja) -- More than halfway through the year, the humanitarian funding landscape remains dire, with less than 17 per cent of the $46 billion required to meet global humanitarian needs in 2025 having been received as of now, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

In its latest update posted online, OCHA said this marks an alarming 40 per cent drop compared to the same time last year.

The UN agency warned that this funding shortfall is a stark reminder that millions of vulnerable people will go without the aid they desperately need.

The UN and its humanitarian partners are being forced to do more with less - at tremendous cost to people, it pointed out.

In June, facing the deepest funding cuts ever to hit the international humanitarian system, OCHA launched a hyper-prioritized global appeal to help 114 million people by targeting the most urgent needs within the broader 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview.

In the latest update to its 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO), OCHA said that as of end-July, the GHO presents consolidated funding requirements of $45.48 billion to assist 181.2 million of the 300 million people in need in 72 countries. To date, only $7.64 billion has been reported, which represents 16.8 per cent of the current financial requirements.

This is approximately 40 per cent less than the funding recorded at the same time last year, it noted.

The extension of the 2025 Humanitarian Response Priorities for Syria was launched on 24 July, appealing for $3.19 billion to support 10.3 million people in need through December 2025.

OCHA said that building on the existing Response Priorities, the revised appeal focuses on areas facing the most severe humanitarian conditions - specifically locations classified under severity levels four and five. It includes $2.07 billion in urgent requirements to assist 8.2 million people.

This extension comes amid critical funding shortfalls. By mid-2025, only 15.9 per cent of the initial $2 billion requirement had been met, it added.

In 2024, just 36.6 per cent of the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan was funded - one of the lowest levels in the crisis's history.

The constrained global funding environment has resulted in a noticeable decline in humanitarian funding - a trend that began in 2024, the OCHA report noted.

"By the end of the first quarter in March 2025, GHO funding reached $3.05 billion, 12 per cent higher than the amount reported at the same time in 2024. This increase was largely driven by multi-year contributions and early disbursements from a few donors."

However, by the end of the second quarter in June 2025, reported funding had dropped to 36 per cent below 2024 levels.

The report said the gap widened further by the end of July 2025, with funding down 39 per cent compared to the same period last year.

CRISIS-PRONE LAC

In its regional focus, the report said Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) remains the second most crisis- prone region globally, following Asia and the Pacific, with humanitarian needs driven by overlapping shocks, including climate-related disasters, food insecurity, violence, and displacement.

In 2025, extreme weather, intensified by the El Nino and La Nina phenomena, significantly affected the region.

Heavy rainfall and flooding damaged crops and infrastructure, while prolonged droughts strained water supplies and agricultural production.

These events continue to disrupt livelihoods, overwhelm public services and deepen the vulnerability in rural, indigenous and marginalized urban communities, said the report.

According to the World Bank, climate disasters could displace over 17 million people within the LAC region by 2050, driving them to seek better living conditions and access to basic services elsewhere.

Nearly one in four people in Latin America and the Caribbean struggled at some point last year to get enough to eat, and about 43 million are projected to experience hunger in 2025, said OCHA.

Women and rural populations are disproportionately affected, including through famine-like conditions reported in some areas of Haiti. At the same time, violence and displacement persist throughout LAC. In Haiti, more than 1.3 million people are internally displaced due to violence, said the report.

"Conflict and violence have also driven displacement in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Honduras. Although irregular migration has declined at key transit points - such as a 97 per cent drop in crossings through Panama's Darien Gap - protection needs persist along migration routes with increases in reverse flows."

Humanitarian partners are responding through coordinated plans across the region, including Humanitarian Needs and Response Plans for Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Venezuela, as well as a Regional Migrant Response Plan for refugees and migrants from Venezuela.

Amid a constrained funding environment and the "Humanitarian Reset", several of these responses have been re-prioritized. Full funding requirements for the national plans are $2.2 billion, said the report.

During the hyper-prioritization exercise, $1.1 billion of requirements were identified to meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations in Colombia, Haiti and Venezuela. The Northern Central America country plans also still urgently require $306 million, it added.

Colombia has hyper-prioritized 1.2 million of the two million people originally targeted for assistance, while Venezuela has focused on 900,000 out of the 5.1 million initially targeted.

The report noted that five of the six least covered humanitarian appeals globally are in Latin America and the Caribbean. The region's response plans have received only $225.7 million - just over 12 per cent of the required funding.

The report said that protection risks due to conflict dynamics and climate-related disasters continue to severely impact Colombia, particularly its ethnic communities.

The country now has the third highest number of IDPs globally - after Sudan and Syria - and the highest in the Americas.

The humanitarian crisis in the Catatumbo region accounted for 30 per cent of the total IDPs nationwide in 2024.

The report said in the first half of 2025, over 1.5 million people were affected by violence and conflict, yet only 37 per cent (568,000) were assisted by humanitarian partners. Additionally, one million people were impacted by humanitarian access restrictions across the country.

OCHA said humanitarian partners aim to urgently reach 1.2 million of the 9.1 million people in need.

However, the Humanitarian Response Plan for Community Priorities (HRPCP) has received only 17 per cent ($57.7 million) of its funding target of $342.3 million.

A CERF Rapid Response allocation to support complementary efforts in Catatumbo provided relief for over 64,000 people, yet much more is needed, said the report.

Colombia stands out for its localization efforts, with 11 projects of the Regional Pooled Fund supporting national organizations to build capacity and strengthen local response.

Meanwhile, the report said that El Salvador continues to face complex humanitarian challenges driven by erratic climate patterns, persistent food insecurity and the protection needs of mobile and displaced populations.

It said that the transition from El Nino to La Nina has led to recurrent droughts and flooding, damaging crops and infrastructure in rural areas dependent on agriculture. In May 2025, strong winds and coastal flooding in southern departments, including La Libertad, disrupted livelihoods and compounded already fragile conditions.

Despite the incidence of acute food insecurity declining, the issue persists in some rural areas, affecting about 200,000 people, it added.

It said while overall security has improved and new internal displacement has declined, pockets remain - driven by gender-based violence and extreme weather - particularly in marginalized communities.

It also said that migrants and returnees continue to face high protection risks, including exploitation and limited access to services.

El Salvador's 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan seeks $66.9 million to assist 818,700 people. As of mid-year, coverage stands at just 12.1 per cent ($8.1 million), significantly constraining the delivery of essential assistance that has reached 12,800 people, under five per cent of the target population, said the report.

The report said that amid persistent vulnerability and recurrent climate shocks, humanitarian needs in Guatemala remain acute.

"El Nino and La Nina continue to disrupt agricultural production and strain water resources, particularly in the Dry Corridor."

These conditions, coupled with rising food prices, have left an estimated 2.7 million people facing IPC Phase 3 or above food insecurity, with that figure assessed at 2.8 million during the just-ended March to May lean season, it said, adding that acute malnutrition remains high among children under five in some areas.

"Guatemala also remains a country of origin, transit and return for migrants. In the first quarter of 2025, IOM recorded nearly 14,000 migration movements through key border areas, including Chiquimula and San Marcos."

Despite lower funding requirements than in 2024, the response remains critically under-funded. As of mid-year, only $11.4 million of the $100.6 million required had been received - just 11.3 per cent - limiting assistance to 104,000 people, or only 13 per cent of the target population, said the report.

The scale of Haiti's humanitarian crisis, driven by rising violence and insecurity, a lack of essential services, and recurring climatic and seasonal shocks, is staggering, it pointed out.

It said armed groups, who are now in almost full control of Port-au-Prince, are steadily expanding their presence outside of the capital, gaining control of major transport and supply routes and driving displacement.

The protection and humanitarian situation worsens by the day. Haiti is among the five global hunger hotspots of "highest concern", with populations facing famine-like conditions, it added.

It also ranks among the top five countries worldwide for grave violations against children. More than 1.3 million people are displaced - the highest number ever recorded in Haiti due to violence and insecurity.

Armed groups continue to perpetrate horrific violence, particularly against women and children, with incidents of gender-based violence rising at an alarming rate. Hospitals, health centres, and schools are routinely attacked and are on the brink of collapse. Civilians and aid workers are being deliberately targeted, while deportations from neighboring countries are overwhelming already stretched response capacities, said the report.

Half of Haiti's population - some six million people - require humanitarian assistance. The 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan seeks $908 million to assist 3.9 million people.

As of end-July, seven months into the year, Haiti is the least funded country appeal in the GHO, with coverage at 9 per cent, it underlined.

Meanwhile, the report said in 2025, Honduras remains highly vulnerable to climate shocks, food insecurity and displacement.

Tropical Storm Sara in late 2024 caused widespread flooding, landslides and infrastructure damage across nearly one-third of the country, displacing over 8,000 people and affecting more than 250,000.

It said the Dry Corridor continues to suffer from dry spells and localized drought, compounding food production challenges for subsistence farmers.

As of early 2025, 1.6 million people are facing IPC Phase 3 or higher levels of food insecurity - a figure expected to persist through the lean season as household food stocks dwindle and prices continue to rise.

OCHA said that while transit migration through Honduras has dropped significantly - down by 92 per cent since early 2024 - the country continues to face returns, with over 17,000 Hondurans repatriated between January and June this year, most of them from the United States.

Violence, poverty, and informality remain entrenched drivers of humanitarian need, said the report.

The 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan seeks $138.5 million, yet only $13.4 million has been received - just 9.7 per cent. This sharp funding shortfall has led to only 10.7 per cent, or 85,600 people, being reached, it added.

"Venezuela continues to grapple with significant challenges stemming from structural bottlenecks to economic growth, the current socio-political situation, ongoing economic sanctions and limited fiscal space for investing in basic services," said the report.

Additionally, it said climate-related shocks, such as the current heavy rainy season, have further exacerbated humanitarian needs, leaving more than 50,000 families affected as of mid-July.

"Internally, 7.6 million people are in need of assistance. Humanitarian efforts have focused on providing basic life-sustaining services - such as water, health care, food, and livelihoods - while also addressing protection risks for the most vulnerable, including women and children."

The report said the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan is one of the least funded globally, with only $57.5 million of the required $606.5 million received (10 per cent), after a $9 million allocation from CERF.

As of 30 June, humanitarians have reached 1.4 million people in 281 municipalities across Venezuela with some form of aid. As part of the localization efforts, the humanitarian response has been provided mainly by national non-governmental organizations, it noted.

The 2025 Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) for Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the largest inter-agency response frameworks of its kind globally, the report pointed out.

It brings together 229 partners to support 2.34 million people across 17 countries - out of a total of 7.5 million identified as in need.

As of July, only 6.8 per cent of the required $1.3 billion has been funded. A hyper-prioritized envelope of $447.3 million was developed to concentrate efforts, but so far it is only 21.1 per cent funded, said the report.

Despite the gap, 259,900 people have received essential services like food security, protection, education, and multi-purpose cash assistance, it emphasized.

However, it said without urgent support, hard-won progress in expanding access to asylum, regularization, basic services, and integration pathways is at risk.

"This threatens to undermine the plan's proven track record in supporting governments to stabilize and integrate refugees and migrants, while unlocking their potential as contributors to host societies."

As of July 2025, humanitarian appeals in LAC total $3.56 billion, targeting 15.8 million people across multiple crises, including forced displacement, violence, food insecurity, and climate shocks, said the report.

"Yet, with just $325 million received so far, the region is only 9 per cent funded, marking the lowest mid-year coverage in over six years."

The report said that these gaps are already affecting the ability of partners to deliver critical assistance, including protection services, food, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), education, and shelter. +