Complex humanitarian emergencies – where conflict, political instability and crises such as human suffering, climate shocks and widespread poverty are layered together – are among the most underfunded crises in the world by the philanthropic sector. State of Disaster Philanthropy 2025 research revealed that after a record-breaking 2022 fueled by the Ukraine humanitarian crisis, philanthropic giving for complex humanitarian emergencies declined to 10.1% of total disaster funding in 2023.
Funders care deeply about human suffering, but what drives them to act in response to complex crisis settings and what holds them back is not well understood.
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) and Accountable Now carried out research that explored what motivates philanthropic giving in these contexts, what gets in the way and how to overcome those barriers.