The MOVEMENT platform brings together the latest data on displaced people to highlight countries with the greatest need and the largest funding gaps
To help donors and governments make informed decisions about how to effectively support the world’s 65 million displaced people and their host countries, anti-poverty group The ONE Campaign today launches a unique data tool - MOVEMENT.
The initiative, launched on World Refugee Day, shines a light on one of the biggest barriers to addressing humanitarian needs - a crisis of data.
MOVEMENT weaves together the most reliable, up-to-date official data-sets from humanitarian organisations and records them into a standardised interface to best show where displaced people are today, what the greatest humanitarian needs are globally, and where humanitarian funding flows align—or do not—with those places of greatest need.
ONE’s Policy Director for Development Finance, Sara Harcourt, said: “MOVEMENT is the first tool that joins best available data on humanitarian needs, humanitarian funding and displaced people in one place, searchable by country. It also exposes the massive data gaps that need to be filled in order accurately follow resources to results.”
The current humanitarian data system is struggling to offer an accurate picture of the impact of displacement on those forced from their homes and the countries that host them, ONE’s research revealed. In its new report ‘Movement: Minding the data gaps around displacement, funding, and humanitarian needs’, ONE shows that information is siloed and incomplete, and is dispersed across dozens of organisations in different platforms and in different formats.
Critically, it is not able to show the real price being paid when humanitarian appeals are not being met.
MOVEMENT uses latest data and can incorporate new datasets rapidly, from official humanitarian organisations’ statistics such as UNHCR, IOM and UNOCHA. It presents the statistics in an open-source format that can be used by anyone in the humanitarian sector.
While the challenges will not be overcome immediately, the collective data hub will allow campaigners, donor countries and others to better see where funding flows are misaligned with populations in need, or where they are hugely underfunded.
Added Harcourt: “European countries mainly focus on how to support the refugees coming into their borders. ButMOVEMENT shows how it is the world’s most fragile countries who are hosting the majority of the world’s displaced people.
“For example, out data shows the EU accounts for around 24% of global GDP - but hosts only 5% of forcibly displaced people globally. World leaders should be stepping up to support those countries most in need - yet global UN appeals are less than one-third funded, making it impossible to adequately provide support. “
ONE’s Africa interim Executive Director Nachilala Nkombo, said: “Developing countries host most of the world’s refugees and the challenges they face impact development and policymaking. This interactive tool will assist those working with and for refugees to have updated information from a click of a button and change the way we have read data before.”
As the world is encouraged to focus on the plight of the displaced millions during World Refugee Week, ONE is calling on governments and donor organisations to increase transparency of their funding, and support data initiatives to help ensure that refugees and their host countries receive the support they need.
Viewers can explore and assess the current refugee crisis through an interactive map which displays current needs, where displaced people are, and how much aid is flowing to those countries. Anyone can view the data, and use the tool by clicking here: https://www.one.org/movement.
Among the highlights, MOVEMENT shows that:
· Globally there at least 152 million people in need of humanitarian aid across 64+ countries - that’s larger than the population of Russia. Due to available data, there is no way to distinguish the needs of refugees and other displaced populations from the millions of other people in humanitarian need - these figures are all grouped together at the country level.
· 115 million people lack basic health services, 93 million lack water and sanitation services, and 34 million lack access to education - addressing these needs will require at least $23.1 billion, but currently, humanitarian appeals are only 30.9% funded.
· The 36 most fragile countries in the world account for just 2.6% of global GDP but host 62% of all forcibly displaced people, including 71% of all IDPs. These fragile countries also are the origin point for 83% of refugees & asylum seekers who flee abroad.
· European Union member states account for around 24% of global GDP, but host only 5% of forcibly displaced people globally, and around 15% of all refugees and asylum-seekers.
· South Sudan, the world’s most fragile country in 2017, hosts 219 displaced people for every 1,000 inhabitants. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, hosts only three displaced people for every 1,000 of its inhabitants.
‘Movement: Minding the data gaps around displacement, funding, and humanitarian needs’ is available by clicking here:https://www.one.org/movement.
