International Disaster Assistance

Description

The International Disaster Assistance (IDA) account provides critical humanitarian assistance in response to natural disasters, conflicts, and other emergencies around the world. Interventions offer people in need with food, shelter, health care, psychosocial support, and activities that support relief, recovery, and resilience. IDA funding helps ensure that people fleeing conflicts and natural disasters have access to life-saving services in the countries of their displacement.

What does it buy?

IDA supports the provision of humanitarian services, including emergency food, water, shelter, health care, and agricultural rehabilitation.

Why is it important?

• Currently, 167 million people need humanitarian assistance worldwide, with children typically constituting at least half of beneficiaries.
• Hunger is on the rise for the fourth consecutive year, with 821 million undernourished people worldwide.
• Conflict is a key driver of hunger crises, with 72 million people facing acute hunger in 8 countries experiencing humanitarian crises.
• In 2020, some 24 million people in Yemen will need humanitarian assistance and protection, making Yemen once again the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.
• As the Syria crisis enters its ninth year, the scale of the need remains extensive. Although an estimated 11.7 million people need humanitarian aid. For example, in 2018 through various modalities, 5.3 million people received food assistance; 22.8 million medical procedures were performed; and 6 million people received direct water, sanitation/hygiene kits, and assistance.

Why should Americans care?

• Global displacement is at its highest level since the aftermath of World War II. This has resulted in significant human suffering, potential “lost generations” as millions of children miss out on education opportunities and undue pressure on countries—many of which are poor themselves—on hosting large numbers of refugees.
• The purpose of humanitarian action is to protect life and health and ensure respect for human beings. Humanitarian action must be based on need alone, giving priority to the most urgent cases of distress and making no distinctions on the basis of nationality, race, gender, religious belief, class, or political affiliations.

What more could be done?

• Sustainable peace agreements continue to elude conflicts such as Syria and Yemen. Growing fragility and intractable conflicts strain an already overstretched humanitarian system. In only five months in 2018, conflict in southern Ethiopia displaced more than 1 million people. Latin America is experiencing the fastest escalating displacement of people across borders in its history because of the political and economic crisis in Venezuela. The growing crisis in the Sahel is also fueling increased humanitarian need, with significant growth in response requirements in both Burkina Faso and Mali. Additional investment would increase humanitarian action to respond to these conflicts, particularly for crucial sectors such as child protection, health, and education.