Humanitarian Funding Fell 20% in 2025 to $33.3 Billion: Key Findings From the GHA Report 2026

International humanitarian assistance fell 20% in 2025 to a preliminary $33.3 billion, according to the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2026 published by ALNAP. Over two years, funding dropped 29.7%, which the report calls the steepest sustained decline on record.

For humanitarian NGOs, local organizations and their funders, the report shows how much money disappeared and where the remaining money is now coming from.

About the report

Figures for 2025 are preliminary and expressed in constant 2024 prices. They will be revised as donors report final data, so treat them as the best current estimate rather than a closed number.

Key findings

• International humanitarian assistance fell to $33.3 billion in 2025, down from $47.4 billion in 2023, according to the GHA Report 2026.
• UN-coordinated appeals raised $16.6 billion in 2025 and met 35% of requirements, the largest funding gap on record, the report finds.
• The United States cut its contribution by 55% and Germany by 36%, while Qatar increased funding by 189% and the United Arab Emirates by 54%. The UAE and Saudi Arabia overtook Germany among the top four donors, according to the GHA Report 2026.
• Funding fell for 18 of the 20 largest crises in 2025. Palestine rose 15% to $4.4 billion, while Lebanon and Jordan each lost more than half their funding in one year, the report shows.
• Direct and indirect funding to local and national organizations fell to 8.7% of the total in 2025, from $3.5 billion in 2024 to $2.5 billion on partial data, far below the Grand Bargain target of 25%, according to ALNAP.
• Private humanitarian funding has fallen every year for three years and is 40% below its 2022 peak, the GHA Report 2026 finds.
• Under the 2026 hyper-prioritisation process, 152 million people were deprioritised for assistance, according to the report.

What the GHA Report 2026 means for humanitarian NGOs and local organizations

The money shrank and changed hands at the same time. Western donors cut deeply while Gulf donors grew, and the share reaching local responders went down rather than up. That shift has practical consequences.

• Donor diversification is no longer optional. Organizations working in MENA, where Gulf donors are now top-four funders, should invest in relationships with Qatari, Emirati and Saudi institutions and understand their reporting expectations.
• Local actors need to make the cost case. With only 7% of pooled funds going to national NGOs so far in 2026, compared with almost 46% in 2025, local organizations should document cost per beneficiary and access advantages in terms a pooled fund manager can compare.
• Expect harder prioritization. When 152 million people are deprioritised, proposals that show who is reached, at what cost and with what verified outcome will compete better than proposals built on need alone.
• Private fundraising is shrinking too. A 40% fall from the 2022 peak means individual and corporate giving cannot simply replace government cuts.

Our guides on building an impact report and measuring social return on investment can help teams present that evidence.

Download the full report

ALNAP publishes the GHA Report 2026, its summary and its data free of charge. The report is authored by ALNAP, not by Impact DOTS.

FAQ

Sources

• ALNAP: Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) Report 2026, summary
• ALNAP: Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) Report 2026
• ALNAP: Global Humanitarian Assistance report series