We’ve seen some gains to improve the humanitarian system so that in the future, fewer people will need our help, but we feel the Canadian government can and should do more.
This has been a very difficult year for humanitarians, including United Nations agencies like World Food Programme, governments like Canada’s that support humanitarian aid, and charities like Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
Humanitarian aid is designed to save lives and reduce suffering during and after emergencies. The biggest driver is conflict. The year 2023 saw a continuation of devastating conflicts in countries like Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ukraine, as well as rapid escalation of conflict in Gaza, Haiti, and South Sudan.
Economic shocks, earthquakes, and weather-related disasters also drive humanitarian crises. In fact, the number of weather-related disasters hitting the world has increased five-fold over the past 50 years.
In the face of these unprecedented needs, there is simultaneously a record gap in funding. The World Food Programme has only about one-third of the food it needs to address global hunger. As a result, it’s had no choice but to cut off aid from millions of people, and reduce food rations for millions more.
In this sobering reality, you might ask: did humanitarians accomplish anything in 2023? The answer is a resounding “yes.”
First, we have saved lives. We’ve brought the disasters happening around the world to the attention of Canadians from coast to coast, and mobilized them to donate to alleviate suffering. And we’ve worked to improve the humanitarian system, so that in the future, fewer people will need our help, and we can be faster and more effective in reaching those who do.
We’ve seen some gains, but we feel the Canadian government can and should do more.
In 2023, the Humanitarian Coalition (made up of 12 leading aid organizations in Canada) issued three appeals to respond to major crises: the earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria in February, hunger in east Africa caused by drought and conflict, and the crisis in Gaza. In each case, Canadians gave generously, and the Canadian government provided matching funds.
We witnessed significant progress toward improving the humanitarian system in 2023 when Canada passed Bill C-41, enabling us to send aid to Afghanistan for the first time in almost three years. Under Taliban leadership, humanitarian needs in Afghanistan skyrocketed, but Canadian law prevented us from working there in its current political context. A coalition of humanitarian agencies proposed a solution, and politicians from all parties came together to craft a bill which will get help to those who need it. This bill doesn’t only apply to Afghanistan, but should also enable faster response to other countries in crisis.
The situation in Gaza calls attention to the importance of humanitarian principles and access. In a crisis, humanitarians don’t ask who is right or wrong; we ask who needs help. Only days into the crisis, with food, water, and medicine running out, thousands of Gaza residents were in dire need of assistance, yet there were major challenges for delivery of humanitarian aid.
This year has underlined, more than ever, the need for humanitarian aid to work hand-in-hand with peace-building and long-term development. This so-called “nexus” approach doesn’t look at a drought or conflict in isolation: it considers them interlinked.
A program Canadian Foodgrains Bank recently completed in eight countries demonstrates the value of the nexus approach. In South Sudan, providing people with food packages for a few months gave them a renewed sense of energy to work on farms, and reduced conflict within families, now they had access to food. In Pakistan, humanitarian aid helped improved school attendance, making it more likely that children would get a good education. And in Kenya, short-term food assistance enabled people to build an irrigation system that freed them from recurring droughts.
The Canadian government has made some progress toward nexus programming, but it’s slow. In 2024, Canada should step up its investment in nexus programming, including integrated funding for humanitarian and development work. We also want to see Canada increase grant-based support for the new Loss and Damage Fund established at COP28, in recognition of the growing impact of severe weather on the frequency of humanitarian crises we’ve witnessed all too often in the past year.
Paul Hagerman, director of public policy at the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
