ECHO Strategy 2005: Global Humanitarian Needs Assessment (GNA) and Forgotten Crisis Assessment (FCA); Methodological Notes

ECHO’s 2005 annual strategy retains the objective of focussing on areas of highest
needs. One of the principles of this needs-based approach is to focus on
humanitarian crises that receive low donor and media attention (“forgotten crises”).
Striving for a systematic and consistent approach, ECHO has established basic
principles and methodologies for assessing both, high-need areas and forgotten
crises in 2001 and consolidated them since.

Within the inevitable constraints of a highly-aggregated data analysis, this approach
has proven its relevance. Reactions from Member States, other donors and
independent research institutions1 have been positive. The overall approach will
thus be continued in the 2005 strategic planning cycle.

A specific attempt has been made this year, however, to even better integrate the
two assessments. Since the identification of forgotten crises to a large extent uses
data and results of the GNA anyway, there is no reason to present two separate
notes.

The present paper, therefore, presents the methodology of the global needs
assessment (GNA) for 2005 and, in a second step, explains the process of
establishing the forgotten crises index, which to a large extent builds on the results
of GNA.