Future of Aid: Affected Population’s Perspectives in Ahmedabad, India

The future of aid to affected populations is uncertain, with various challenges and complexities arising rapidly. Here are three local points that have a global view that came up in a day-long workshop organised by HOISA with the Inter-Agency Research and Analysis Network (IARAN) and The Hague Humanitarian Studies Centre in Ahmedabad, India. The participants were small business owners affected by extreme heat in the 2024 summer who took anticipatory action in the just-concluded summer of 2025.

• Number of People in Need: 305 million people will need humanitarian aid and protection in 2025 at the global level, but the participants pointed out that for each need identified, there is at least one to five more needs that are not visible and are not identified by formal structures.
• Funding Requirements: $47.4 billion will be needed to support humanitarian efforts in 2025 at the global level, but the participants pointed out that in their experience, for each dollar received by the affected population, they were able to mobilise an additional 3 to 5 dollars’ worth of resources locally if the amount was received in time.
• Largest Crises: The five largest national crises in terms of the number of people in need are Sudan, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, and Yemen on the global agenda, but the participants pointed out that extreme heat covers far more people worldwide and its acceleration will continue beyond the five largest national crises.

In addition, insights on challenges and emerging perspectives were also discussed by the 25 participants.

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*This news item is by the Humanitarian Observatory Initiative of South Asia (HOISA) on a workshop conducted in June 2025, Ahmedabad, India