FAQs: Humanitarian Funding

Humanitarian aid is funded through governments, contributions from international organizations, individual donations, and contributions from the private sector. Fundraising campaigns and appeals are often launched during humanitarian emergencies, particularly in relation to natural disasters.

CERF is the United Nations’ global emergency fund, established in 2005. It provides fast financial support so that aid organizations can respond quickly to crises. While most funding comes from UN member states, CERF also accepts donations from businesses and individuals. It is managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

It depends. While percentages vary, most major NGOs and UN agencies spend more than 85 percent directly on programs and services for affected people, others even more than 90 percent, with the remainder covering logistics, staff, and administration, as well as fundraising expenses.

Humanitarian organizations publish financial reports showing how donations are used. The best way to check is to look at the annual accountability reports of the organization you donate to. DONARE provides some examples on how much of your contribution goes into field and program work as opposed to administrative and fundraising expenses.

Overhead costs, such as administrative expenses, are necessary to ensure that aid is delivered effectively and transparently, while fundraising expenses are especially crucial for organizations like Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which does not accept government funding.

Each year, a handful of governments provide the majority of global humanitarian funding. For years, the United States (US) was consistently the world's leading international humanitarian donor, followed by Germany and the European Union. In 2025, this changed. The EU is now the largest donor after the US's share of global funding has dropped sharply from over 40 percent in 2024 to approximately 14 percent. And Germany has lost its second place, following severe cuts.

In addition to the European Union, the United States, and Japan, the most significant donors of humanitarian aid worldwide include the United Kingdom, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates.

Norway, Denmark, and Sweden stand out in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) because they invest an above-average percentage of their GDP in international humanitarian aid. Among larger countries, Germany was the world's leading donor in terms of GDP share for years (until 2025).

Of the world's twenty largest economies, China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Poland, and Mexico are the least generous donors.

Published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the GHO is the world’s most comprehensive overview of the state of humanitarian needs across the globe. The annual report is produced in collaboration with humanitarian aid agencies, and aims to assess and highlight the most urgent humanitarian crises, as well as the funding requirements needed to address them.

Refugee Response Plans (RRPs) focus specifically on the needs of refugees, usually across multiple host countries. Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs) address all humanitarian needs within a crisis-affected country, including internally displaced persons (IDPs). Both plans are coordinated by the UN, but have different target groups.

Delivered in response to the global crisis in humanitarian funding, the humanitarian reset is a UN-led reform launched in 2025 to overhaul the aid system. It aims to focus scarce resources on life-saving needs, reduce duplication, and shift more power and funding to local actors.