Summary of crises with major changes since beginning of 2008
Emergency | Major changes in humanitarian situation | CAP funding % |
Chad | Heightened instability, with a rebel attack on the capital in February, and insecurity for aid workers in the east. Continued internal/external displacements. | 44% |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 36% increase in funding requirements from US$575 million(1) to $736 million, mostly for food security. | 39% |
occupied Palestinian territory | Steep deterioration of humanitarian situation in Gaza because of closure. Nonetheless, funding requirements trimmed by 3%, from $462 million to $448 million. | 49% |
Somalia | Serious deterioration of humanitarian situation: widespread drought from North to much of Central Somalia; continued displacement in and around Mogadishu, with the IDP population reaching 300,000 in the Afgooye corridor and 1.1 million in total; hyperinflation (especially of food prices) and currency devaluation; latest FSAU analysis indicates that 2.6 million or 35% of the total population now face the conditions of Humanitarian Emergency or Acute Food and Livelihoods Crisis, an increase of more than 40% since January. Consequently, influx from Somalia to neighbouring countries continued. Increase in funding requirements from $406 million to $641 million. | 32% |
Uganda | Continued IDP movement out of camps to transit sites or villages of origin in northern Uganda. However, food security situation in Karamoja rapidly approaching worst-case scenario. Funding requirements have been held steady, with 50% increase in food requirements compensated by trimming in other sectors. | 45% |
Zimbabwe | June 2008 harvest is forecast to be 51% less than last season’s production, due to adverse rains and scarcity of inputs. Violence increased surrounding the presidential election run-off, with resultant displacement. NGO access recently cut. Inflation recorded as 355,000% in March 2008. Remittances diminished since anti-foreigner violence in South Africa. Funding requirements increase by 25%, mostly food. | 42% |
INTRODUCTION
Some of the major crises with Consolidated Appeals have deteriorated significantly in the first half of 2008. Instability has worsened in Chad, with a rebel attack on the capital in February and continued danger in the east. Gaza in the occupied Palestinian territory has suffered a virtual quarantine that has cut off much commerce and vital services. Somalis have suffered fresh displacement, and a drought has put parts of the country on the edge of a major famine. Zimbabwe's harvest is forecast to be 51% less than last season's due to adverse rains and scarcity of inputs. In most cases, women and children continue to be the most affected. These crises require renewed effort and resources. More positively, internally displaced Ugandans continue to return home from camps to their villages of origin, or to transit centres closer to home; Côte d'Ivoire's internal conflict and its severe effects on the population continue to gradually unwind; and a concerted, re-structured humanitarian effort has begun in Iraq.
The practice of coordinated humanitarian action that underlies these consolidated and flash appeals has markedly improved. The majority of appeals are now prioritised, sending a clear signal to donors about which actions most urgently need funding. Most of the mid-year reviews contain clear reporting on outputs achieved to date versus the targets laid out in the original appeals six months ago. Pooled funds play their role in humanitarian financing with increasing effectiveness. Flash appeals are now issued faster, as sudden-onset emergencies demand.
Funding to date for the 2008 appeals is significantly greater than at mid-2007 in US dollar amount – an encouraging sign that donors are committing their humanitarian envelopes earlier, and perhaps have obtained larger envelopes as well. The increase goes beyond food (which received a strong infusion of resources following the World Food Programme's special appeal for rising food and logistical costs), and is distributed across sectors. Moreover, funding is better spread across the various appeals, as shown by their lesser variation in funding as a percentage of requirements compared to one year ago. These are welcome improvements as the fifth anniversary of Good Humanitarian Donorship approaches.
The humanitarian system and its Consolidated Appeal Process will continue to be challenged in 2008, by crises that are following their predicted courses as well as those that have deteriorated, by the need to adapt to higher food and fuel costs plus an increasing caseload of food-insecure people and countries, and by the possibility that 2008 will see the same increased frequency of climate-related disasters as 2007. The mid-year reviews describe in detail how country teams plan to meet each challenge, with this report highlighting some important overarching trends.
2008 appeals: unfunded requirements at mid-year
Major advances in CAP prioritisation and monitoring
For the first time ever, the majority of Consolidated Appeals (CAPs(2)) are prioritised. The three CAPs that were prioritised at the start of 2008 – the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, and Iraq – are now joined by Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. Each country team was encouraged to implement prioritisation as part of the mid-year review, following the clear endorsement earlier this year at the Montreux Retreat on the CAP and Humanitarian Financing of at least a two-step prioritisation system for each CAP. Most of them used the method of a series of test questions that resulted in each project being ranked on a two-step or three-step scale of priority. (DR Congo used a more elaborate and data-heavy method of prioritising districts on the basis of six bundles of humanitarian indicators – appropriate for making choices about how to address that country's situation of generalised humanitarian need resulting from developmental paralysis as well as conflict.) Only the CAPs for Sudan, Somalia, West Africa, and the occupied Palestinian territory remain to be prioritised. Donors are urged to familiarise themselves with each CAP's prioritisation system and follow the signals that country teams have given them about the projects most urgently needing funding. (The priority designations for projects are shown in the MYR documents, as well as on the Financial Tracking Service.(3)) For example, in the Central African Republic, the 'immediate' priority projects are only 48% funded, actually less than the high-priority and medium-priority ones (51% and 54% respectively).
Notes:
(1) All dollar signs in this document denote United States dollars. All financial figures are as reported by 30 June 2008.
(2) CAP can stand for Consolidated Appeal or Consolidated Appeal Process, depending on context. The common parlance seldom abbreviates Consolidated Appeal as CA.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary of crises with major changes since beginning of 2008
Introduction
Major advances in CAP prioritisation and monitoring
Humanitarian reform's growing impact on the CAP
Overhaul of flash appeals
Funding at mid-year better than ever
Revamping the CAP for the future:
Consolidated Appeals
Central African Republic
Chad
Côte d'Ivoire
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Iraq
occupied Palestinian territory
Somalia
Sudan
Uganda
West Africa
Zimbabwe
Other Common Plans
Liberia: Critical Humanitarian Gaps
Nepal: Common Appeal for Transitional Support
Timor-Leste: Transitional Strategy and Appeal
Annex: Detailed Funding Tables per Appeal and per Sector
Please note that appeals are revised regularly. The latest version of this document is available on http://www.humanitarianappeal.net
Note: The full text of this appeal is available on-line in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format and may also be downloaded in zipped MS Word format.
| Full Original Mid-Year Review[pdf* format][zipped MS Word format] |  | |
| * Get the Adobe Acrobat Viewer (free) |  |  |
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