Humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction: 2019 annual report
167.6 million people were estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2020—a number expected to have increased with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the highest reported figure in decades. Refugee crises continue to increase in scope, scale, and complexity. Further, one in three people is exposed to earthquakes, one billion people in 155 countries are exposed to floods, tropical cyclone winds pose a threat to 1.6 billion people in 89 countries, and the impact of extreme droughts impacts 55 million every year.
Against this backdrop of increasing needs, UN Women continued its work in humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction in 2019 by promoting accountability for gender equality globally and locally; addressing the immediate needs of crisis-affected women and girls; and strengthening the resilience of crisis-affected and at-risk populations by empowering women and girls and leveraging their leadership and engagement in decision-making processes.
This annual report details key results UN Women achieved in 2019 in the areas of humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction in collaboration with UN and civil society partners. Looking ahead, the report also sketches out the steps UN Women has taken to ensure that it remains fit-for-purpose to prepare and respond to increasingly complex and protracted crises that cut across conflicts and disasters.
UN Women is grateful to all the donors acknowledged in the report for their support in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in some of the world's most challenging settings.
