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INTRODUCTION

Humanitarian country teams in each crisis with a consolidated appeal (or comparable concerted action plan) have completed their mid-year reviews, compiling information on outputs to date compared to the targets stated in their plans for 2011, analyzing key humanitarian indicators and trends, re-calibrating their strategies and re-validating the detailed operational plans and funding requests. This document summarizes trends, innovations, and (in the second part) each country’s mid-year review.

The most worrying development is the drought in the Horn of Africa. Major parts of several countries are already at crisis stage of food availability, nutrition (global acute malnutrition rates in some zones being twice the emergency threshold), and livestock survival. The appeals for Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti (and to some extent Sudan and South Sudan) address emergency drought-related needs.1 (Chad and Niger are also in food security and nutrition crises, in part because of drought, which their appeals also address.) For most of these appeals, the drought is not causing the funding requirements to increase significantly at midyear, largely because the drought was anticipated or already happening at the time of CAP development in late 2010. However full funding of the updated requirements is essential to respond to this worsening emergency.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen is exacerbated by expanding unrest and political strife in the capital and elsewhere, on top of the older conflict in Sa’ada and a generalized food insecurity crisis. The Côte d’Ivoire appeal is presenting increased requirements as it extends its planning and budgeting horizon through 2011 and expands its scope now that the end of conflict permits greater access. There are major reductions in funding requests for Haiti and Afghanistan, not so much due to a substantive re-assessment of humanitarian needs, but more to a re-examination of where to draw the boundaries of humanitarian needs in these appeals and the re-designation of some proposed actions as reconstruction or development. Finally, in many countries with vulnerable populations, high prices of food and other commodities are causing stresses that, for the most vulnerable, are likely to cross the line into outright humanitarian need.

The mid-year reviews are primarily exercises in monitoring, and the clusters and humanitarian country teams (HCTs) continue to show improvements in monitoring practices. Monitoring achievements and impact against clearly stated and measurable targets is the fundament of consolidated appeal monitoring, and an important part of the collective accountability of the international humanitarian system.

Another form of monitoring and accountability that was introduced across 12 humanitarian appeal countries in 2011 was the IASC Gender Marker. This Marker allowed targeted response and more visibility for donors and aid organisations on how projects across all of the sectors are designed and implemented to take account of the distinct needs and realities of women, girls, boys and men affected by crisis.

Appeal funding to date in 2011 is slightly off the pace of recent mid-years, in absolute terms and in proportion to requirements. The IASC hopes that donors will find the resources to fulfil their standards of accountability. In particular, the fact that worldwide consolidated appeal requirements are slightly less now than at previous mid-years should not be taken as a signal to decrease funding commensurately; instead, donors should take this opportunity to close funding gaps as never before.