Oxfam Warns Global Humanitarian Funding for El Niño is Critically Insufficient

Global funding dedicated to preparing for and responding to the ongoing El Niño phenomenon is critically insufficient, international charity Oxfam warned on Thursday. The weather pattern is driving wildfires, crop failures, and severe food and water insecurity worldwide, with scientists reporting that its intensity could peak between now and April as one of the strongest on record.

According to Oxfam, current total global funding allocated for El Niño humanitarian preparation and response stands at $450 million. The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated up to $100 million, having disbursed $20 million across six countries to date. The remaining $350 million relies on appeals, of which less than 20 percent has been pledged. In contrast, the 2015–2016 El Niño event generated a $5 billion collective appeal and raised nearly $2 billion.

Oxfam reported that multiple regions are already facing severe humanitarian consequences:

• Eastern and Southern Africa: An estimated 62 million people are experiencing worsening food insecurity due to alternating floods and droughts, with famine risks present in Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia. Water levels are dropping across nearly 80 percent of monitored points in the Sahel.
• Asia and the Pacific: Widespread drought, water shortages, and wildfire risks are affecting Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, and Sri Lanka.
• Latin America: An additional 16 million people are projected to face food insecurity. In Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, an Oxfam assessment indicated that over 70,000 farming households reported maize crop losses.
• Southwest Asia and North Africa: Recurrent droughts and acute food insecurity are affecting millions across Syria, Palestine, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.

Although warnings were raised by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and several nations at the recent UN General Assembly, Oxfam noted that these discussions have not yet produced a dedicated UN resolution to formalize and galvanize international action.

In response to the escalating crisis, Oxfam stated it is reallocating resources and working with local partners to implement early warning systems, water conservation, climate-smart agriculture, and emergency aid across affected countries, including the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Kenya, and nations across Central America. The organization has called on donor governments to immediately scale up humanitarian aid, invest in long-term adaptation measures, and cancel unsustainable debts for vulnerable countries.

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