ANALYSIS OF FUNDING IN 2017
The overall funding level for No Lost Generation in 2017 (49%), as reflected in the humanitarian funding tracking systems, is lower than in previous years and significantly lower than the 71% funding rate in 2016. There are a number of factors that may have contributed to this.
The first of these is that the required funding for No Lost Generation has increased year on year, to just under USD 2 billion in 2017 – a 75% increase on the required amount the previous year (USD 1.14 billion required in 2016). In absolute terms, funding received for No Lost Generation programming increased from $802,700,000 in 2016 to $966,924,000 in 2017.
2017 was the first year to incorporate financial data on pillar III (Adolescents and Youth), thanks to newly developed tracking mechanisms which will be refined on an ongoing basis (with the exception of the Iraq HRP for which tracking mechanisms for pillar III are not yet in place). The addition of financial data on pillar III is one of the main contributing factors to the high increase in required funding for in 2017 as compared to 2016. Furthermore, the data tells us that in 2017 the Adolescent & Youth pillar of No Lost Generation tended to be less well funded than the other two pillars – partly as a result of low levels of funding for livelihoods in the Syria crisis response in 2017 (livelihoods was 36% funded in the 3RP, and 15% funded in the Syria HRP), given that this sector contributes significantly to pillar III.
A further consideration is that overall funding levels for the 3RP dropped by 10 percentage points in 2017 compared to 2016, with increasing requirements, donor fatigue and the evolving dynamics of the conflict inside Syria as possible contributing factors. No Lost Generation funding levels do not differ significantly from overall funding levels for the Syria HRP or the 3RP. At the same time, however, funding levels for No Lost Generation were below overall funding levels in the Iraq HRP in 2017: by 56 percentage points for Education and 29 percentage points for child protection. Further analysis is required to determine the causes of this.
Finally, the humanitarian funding which supports No Lost Generation programming is complemented by other resource flows such as bilateral aid or national spending which may be directed in support of No Lost Generation sectors, particularly in relation to national systems strengthening. The 3RP reports that bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors provided nearly USD 3.1 billion in grants and USD 4.3 billion in loans to Turkey, Lebanon,
Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt in 2017. Information on this funding is not captured in humanitarian funding tracking systems. Interestingly, in Jordan, funding to support education through the Jordan Response Plan (which extends beyond the 3RP) was tracked in 2017, and demonstrates significant further investment in Education.
In addition to the amount and level of funds received, the timeliness and predictability of funding also impacts upon programming and results. Partners working under the Education pillar of No Lost Generation reported that in 2017 a significant proportion of overall funding was received in the second half of the year, limiting the extent to which programmes and, in particular, systems strengthening work could be properly planned, coordinated, and maintained across funding cycles.
On a positive note, there appears to be a growing trend toward more predictable, timely and multi-year funding. The 3RP reports an increase in up front contributions in early 2018, and an increase in the amount of multi-year funding, noting that this trend will allow many partners to avoid breaks in assistance between 2017 and 2018.
Finally, the funding deficit that UNRWA began to face in 2017 challenges its ability to continue to provide education services to Palestine refugees in the region. UNRWA is severely challenged by a large funding deficit, that is putting education in UNRWA schools as well as host country systems under pressure, jeopardizing both access to and quality of the education delivered