Six key humanitarian actors call for “a new global financial deal”. In an article published in Le Monde newspaper, they argue for the establishment of a $50 billion fund to finance humanitarian aid.
These humanitarian experts signed the title after the Paris summit on a new global financial agreement on June 22 and 23. “We need a new global agreement to fund international humanitarian aid”.
Experts note that humanitarian needs are increasing due to the proliferation of crises and climate change. According to one of them, Pierre Micheletti, Honorary President of the NGO Against Hunger, NGO budgets have been steadily increasing for ten years.
“We’ve gone from an annual cost of $15 billion in ten years to an estimate in the order of $50 billion by 2023,” he explains in the forum program.
Pierre Micheletti asserts that “this amount, which seems large, is modest compared to other costs”, 50 billion dollars corresponds to one sixth of what the French nation allocates for its health or well-being. Net profit of some large companies.
The financial system is “not breathing”.
Pierre Micheletti and his co-signatories believe that the humanitarian funding model is “not breathing”. So reforms should be made to raise this 50 billion dollars annually.
Several tracks are mentioned by the signers. In particular, they expect contributions from large corporations. Another way is to “significantly increase the scope of donor countries”.
Indeed, today, “contributions to the Fund are concentrated in ten countries, most Western countries, bringing together more than 80% of the sums collected”.
Additionally, since the contributions are voluntary and annual, they are not enough to deal with crises that are part of the long-term, say experts at the forum.
“83% of people in need of assistance face crises lasting at least five years,” they write. Hence establishing “multi-year financial guarantees” is imperative.
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The administrative costs of some companies should also be questioned. Recently, the ICRC has, for example, been singled out for salaries and other financial benefits dedicated to positions of responsibility.
“Before focusing only on the search for funding, questions must be asked about the performance of the system,” assesses Pierre Micheletti.
Honorary President of the NGO Against Hunger, “For 2023 alone, there is an increase of more than 30% in the amounts estimated to be necessary, so these margins will not be enough to compensate for a very strong increase in the number of crises around the world”.
“Don’t Miss Any Way”
However, it is difficult to predict the same model for all humanitarian NGOs because they do not all have the same funding system.
For example, Médecins Sans Frontières, “has a specific economic model since almost 97 or 98% of its income comes from private donors”, Pierre Micheletti explains, while “other large non-governmental organizations are more nuanced between the participation of the government. Funding and the participation of private funds”.
That is why Pierre Micheletti believes that “we must not lose any way to find this fund”.
Interview by Renaud Malik
Web Adaptation: Emily Teletros
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