Practical approaches to needs-based allocation of humanitarian aid A review for Irish Aid on donor approaches

Funding according to need is one of the central principles of being a good humanitarian donor. In committing themselves to the principles and practice of good humanitarian donorship (GHD), donors agree to fund on the basis of, and in proportion to need. However donors, recipient agencies and beneficiaries agree that not all funding is allocated to where it is most needed, and analysis of available data confirms this.

The complex mixture of donor bureaucracies, competing foreign policy priorities, information deficits, institutional incentives and weaknesses in the humanitarian system all play a part. The review discusses the role of political processes, internal management approaches and ways in which the wider humanitarian system could be strengthened to support better needs-based allocation.