The rising cost of humanitarian response, combined with repeated action and investment in a small number of targeted countries has led to renewed calls to change the way we address recurrent crises. In 2010, the amount of funding for emergency response was the highest on record, at $12.4 billion, and the joint agencies’ Consolidated Appeal Process stood at $11.2 billion (it’s highest figure ever, and double that of 2006) (Kellett and Sweeney, 2011: 63). Yet very little of this funding goes towards disaster prevention and preparedness that can build the resilience of communities to cope with emergencies: in 2009, for example, such aid accounted for just 1.8% of overall humanitarian expenditure to the top 40 recipient countries (Kellett and Sweeney, 2011: 13).
Read the full report from the Overseas Development Institute.