“Sustainable Development Goals impossible to attain without funding revolution,” warns World Vision UK

Aid agency World Vision UK warns that an increasingly fragile and unstable world could put the global sustainable development goals at risk unless a new funding approach is established. 

Ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul next week, the aid agency believes that three specific reforms need to be high on the agenda:

• More financial commitment to assist the 75 million school-aged children affected by crises
• Greater proportion of funding to assist 125 million people affected by global emergencies and protracted crises 
• Bigger injection of private finance –with new relationship between private and public funding

Sarah Pickwick, World Vision UK’s senior conflict adviser, said: “Currently, financial assistance is often treated as a band-aid solution. It is designed to respond to the symptoms of the crisis but does not adequately address the underlying drivers of emergencies. This can create a vicious cycle in which the humanitarian financing system is increasingly overstretched and unable to meet the needs from the growing number and frequency of prolonged complex crises.

“I was recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where although assistance has helped many affected families with their basic needs, there was a sense of fatigue, cynicism and pessimism about the future. Funding is a huge issue generally, but securing more funding isn’t the only challenge ahead. It’s also crucial to find ways to address the root cause of these long-term crises. It’s imperative that the conversation on reforming the humanitarian finance system does not stop at the conference.”

Around 5,000 attendees from the world’s leading countries, companies and philanthropists are scheduled to attend the conference in Turkey on May 23-24. The delegates are expected to join forces around a new humanitarian funding model known as the Grand Bargain.

Julian Srodecki, the World Vision International Humanitarian Grants Technical Director, said: “It is encouraging to hear that the Grand Bargain session at the World Humanitarian Summit will be a call to action that will invite others into a more inclusive process. However, it needs to be the start of a journey not a destination. While it is welcome that the Grand Bargain calls for increases in cash programming, it is disappointing that no targets are set.” 

Ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey next week, World Vision International will make available about 140 million (20 per cent of its £684 million global development budget) to swiftly tackle future crises and emergencies. Additionally, World Vision will also be committing to support 20 per cent of all children affected by emergencies and conflicts within the agency’s response by prioritising education and child protection programming.

For more information on why children must be kept at the centre of the World Humanitarian Summit, read Ian Ridley's latest blog, World Vision's Senior Director of Humanitarian External Engagement.