The first half of 2020 has given us few reasons for optimism. And as humanitarian planning for 2021 gets underway, relief agencies and donors will be grappling with the acute challenges of skyrocketing needs and tightening donor budgets in the midst of a devastating pandemic. The task now, more than ever before, is to ensure that every aid dollar has the greatest impact – and meets recipients’ most basic needs.

According the World Food Programme, an estimated 130 million additional people could face serious food insecurity by the end of 2020 and up to half a billion people could be pushed into extreme poverty as a result of COVID-19. The pandemic has also changed the ways humanitarians respond, with movement restrictions and distancing measures forcing new partnerships with local and community organisations, and closer government collaboration. Where humanitarian agencies are unable to reach people, various approaches – some more creative than others – are being piloted to assess need and remotely gather feedback on relief efforts.