Save the date: 7 Sept 2022 – Launch of ALNAP’s The State of the Humanitarian System Report

We will publish our flagship The State of the Humanitarian System (SOHS) report on Wednesday 7 September.  
Further updates on the venue and time for the launch will be provided in due course. 

 

The report is published every 3-4 years; the last one was in 2018. The 2022 report will be the 5th edition.  

The SOHS report assesses the size, shape and performance of the humanitarian system against key criteria over time. It is independent and based on evidence from on-the-ground practitioners, crisis-affected populations, host governments, academics, policy-makers and donors. 

It has become a valuable resource for decision making, enabling humanitarian actors to make better decisions about where and how to make improvements. It is also a means by which the humanitarian system can be held accountable to crisis-affected populations. 

What will be in the 2022 SOHS report? 
 

The 2022 edition of the SOHS answers key questions and illustrates changes over time: 

  • How is the system performing on health, refugee crises, active conflict, protection, reducing mortality and averting hunger?  
  • Does the system cause harm?  
  • Is the system becoming more locally led?  
  • Does the system have enough money? Is it resource-efficient? 
  • What do we know about the demographics of staff and contractors at humanitarian agencies? 
  • How does the system comply with humanitarian laws and standards? 
  • Can crisis-affected people hold system actors accountable, and can they influence the decisions that affect them? 
  • How has the system responded to and been affected by COVID-19? 

Previous versions of the report focused on assessing the performance of the system against the OECD DAC criteria. While the 5th edition still considers those elements to allow for longitudinal comparison, it also focuses more on asking the key questions outlined above that are relevant for policy-makers and practitioners today.  

Our frontloading of inputs from crisis-affected populations means that there is a new focus on core concerns highlighted by affected populations. These include targeting, corruption and accountability.  

The 2022 SOHS report also covers for the first time the ‘system outside the system’, including diaspora, community-led efforts and the private sector, acknowledging that the ‘formal international humanitarian system’ is just one source of support for people in crisis.  

The report will be published in a digital e-reader format which will make it easier to navigate and help minimise our environmental impact.