Global Humanitarian Thematic Funding
Saving lives, protecting rights and securing a better future for children through flexible funding.

UNICEF relies on voluntary contributions to uphold our mission of reaching every child. UNICEF seeks adequate and quality resources to support effective preparedness and timely response to humanitarian and protection needs, particularly of the most vulnerable populations. UNICEF thematic contributions are pooled, flexible multi-year funds to support the UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2022-2025, including humanitarian action.
Global humanitarian thematic funding (GHTF) is, after the Core Resources for Results (RR), the most flexible form of funding as it allows for rapid and strategic responses by UNICEF to humanitarian crises. GHTF makes it possible for UNICEF to deliver assistance to the most vulnerable children when and where it is needed and in a timely and effective manner.
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Why Global Humanitarian Thematic Funding is important
With Global Humanitarian Thematic Funding (GHTF), UNICEF and partners are able to:
Top resource partners to GHTF, 2023
As of 20 July
Ranking |
Name of Partner |
Total US$ |
1 | Sweden | 11,050,795 |
2 | Private sector fundraising by UNICEF country offices | 6,232,350 |
3 |
United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF |
3,916,413 |
4 | United States Fund for UNICEF | 2,083,705 |
5 |
Dutch Committee for UNICEF |
1,470,838 |
6 |
German Committee for UNICEF |
515,023 |
7 | Australian Committee for UNICEF Limited | 370,358 |
8 | Finnish Committee for UNICEF | 364,320 |
9 | Danish Committee for UNICEF | 120,382 |
10 | Swedish Committee for UNICEF | 114,756 |
11 | Portuguese Committee for UNICEF | 72,422 |
12 | UNICEF Hungarian Committee Foundation | 24,210 |
13 | The New Zealand National Committee for UNICEF | 11,534 |
Grand Total |
26,347,105 |
We express our gratitude to the partners who supported GHTF, as their contributions are essential to UNICEF’s ability to reach the most vulnerable, crisis-affected and forgotten children. Each one of these resource partners, regardless of the size of their contribution, shares in the achievements of GHTF worldwide.
Global Humanitarian Funding Allocations, 2023
As of 20 July
Destination | Total US$ |
Sudan | 3,281,836 |
Syrian Arab Republic |
3,064,473 |
Myanmar |
2,617,882 |
Chad |
2,446,352 |
Afghanistan |
2,440,000 |
Haiti | 2,325,079 |
Democratic Republic of Congo |
2,140,558 |
Cameroon |
1,810,580 |
Bangladesh |
1,750,000 |
Ethiopia |
1,706,257 |
Pakistan |
1,500,000 |
Yemen |
1,435,514 |
South Sudan |
1,400,000 |
Mozambique |
1,329,463 |
Malawi |
1,300,000 |
Lebanon |
1,227,000 |
Egypt |
1,200,000 |
Kenya |
900,000 |
Somalia |
900,000 |
State of Palestine |
841,050 |
Burkina Faso |
832,200 |
Central African Republic |
780,819 |
East Asia and the Pacific Region |
750,000 |
Eritrea |
700,000 |
Europe and Central Asia Region |
700,000 |
Mali |
695,316 |
Colombia |
600,000 |
Fiji/Pacific Islands |
600,000 |
Iran |
600,000 |
Nigeria |
600,000 |
Peru |
600,000 |
Venezuela |
600,000 |
Türkiye |
500,000 |
Eastern and Southern Africa Region |
500,000 |
Latin America and the Caribbean Region |
500,000 |
Middle East and North Africa Region |
500,000 |
South Asia Region | 500,000 |
West and Central Africa Region |
500,000 |
Libya |
470,000 |
Azerbaijan |
400,000 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
400,000 |
Kyrgyzstan |
400,000 |
Uganda |
400,000 |
Zimbabwe |
400,000 |
Ecuador |
350,000 |
Papua New Guinea | 350,000 |
South Africa |
350,000 |
Sri Lanka |
350,000 |
Thailand |
350,000 |
Armenia |
300,000 |
Dominican Republic |
300,000 |
Democratic People's Republic of Korea | 300,000 |
El Salvador |
300,000 |
Guatemala |
300,000 |
Honduras |
300,000 |
Serbia |
300,000 |
Algeria |
200,000 |
Benin |
200,000 |
Madagascar |
200,000 |
Tajikistan |
200,000 |
Togo |
200,000 |
Bolivia |
150,000 |
Chile |
150,000 |
Mongolia | 125,944 |
Zambia | 125,000 |
Albania | 100,000 |
Costa Rica | 100,000 |
Croatia | 100,000 |
Cuba | 100,000 |
Kosovo | 100,000 |
Nicaragua | 100,000 |
Niger | 80,450 |
*Above figures exclude allocations to HQ.
GHTF Impact for Children: Examples from 2023
In 2023, flexible allocations from the Global Humanitarian Thematic Fund allowed country offices to ensure a robust response across multiple sectors, including nutrition; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); child protection and health.
Türkiye

After the immediate systemwide scale-up in the wake of the earthquake which struck large parts of Türkiye, last February and while additional funding from key donors was pending, the timely GHTF allocation supported the country office to quickly deploy and scale up the earthquake response and child protective services. Over 5,730 individuals received psychological first aid from the child helpline, and UNICEF was able to a total of 4,780 individuals, including children, their families and service providers for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support and GBV prevention and mitigation measures, including specialized services.
Myanmar
Through a comprehensive package of services, reaching more than 50,000 people, the Myanmar country office covered Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) needs after Cyclone MOCHA struck the Country.
Afghanistan

With support of GHTF, UNICEF reached over 93,000 people with key messages on AWD/Cholera prevention through social mobilization and mass media campaigns in Afghanistan. Over 500 people were provided with safe water through the rehabilitation of a water supply system in the southern region. UNICEF was able to support 10,000 people through community engagement and the distribution of WASH supplies. The allocation of GHTF was crucial in enabling UNICEF to preposition lifesaving supplies in high-risk districts, train WASH Cluster partners on AWD preparedness/response and respond to AWD/Cholera alerts in a timely manner.
South Sudan

In a context with severe child protection needs, limited services, and an 88% funding gap, GHTF allowed the South Sudan country office to deploy trained social workers and quickly set up Child-Friendly Spaces at the remote border locations where more than 134,250 women and children have arrived fleeing the conflict in Sudan, since mid-April.
Allocation criteria
The directors of the Public Partnerships Division, Programme Division and Office of Emergency Programmes endorse the proposals for GHTF allocation. The proposals are then reviewed and approved by the Deputy Director of Programmes. A set of clear criteria is used to allocate GHTF at all levels – country, regional, multi-regional and global. These criteria include:
- Critical unmet needs for the most vulnerable children
- Critical funding gaps based on available and projected contributions
- Strong implementation capacity based on the delivery track records of regular country programmes
- Alignment with organization-wide initiatives aimed at strengthening the efficiency and effectiveness of UNICEF humanitarian action (e.g., the Humanitarian Review recommendations; the revised Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action, etc.) This can include gender-transformative programming; establishing effective mechanisms for the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse; accountability to affected populations; and localization strategies that emphasize anti-racism and anti-discrimination.
Previous results
Results from 2022
Top resource partners to GHTF, 2022
As of 31 December
Ranking |
Name of Partner |
Total US$ |
1 | Netherlands | 21,716,649 |
2 |
United States Fund for UNICEF |
21,567,098 |
3 | German Federal Foreign Office | 20,682,523 |
4 |
Private sector fundraising by UNICEF country offices |
16,627,834 |
5 |
Swiss Committee for UNICEF |
12,232,416 |
6 | Sweden |
11,717,546 |
7 |
United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF |
4,796,483 |
8 |
Swedish Committee for UNICEF |
3,538,013 |
9 |
Dutch Committee for UNICEF |
2,868,301 |
10 |
Republic of Korea |
1,000,000 |
11 |
Denmark |
589,188 |
12 | Irish Committee for UNICEF | 518,486 |
13 |
Finnish Committee for UNICEF |
435,645 |
14 |
Danish Committee for UNICEF |
226,812 |
15 |
French Committee for UNICEF | 218,585 |
16 |
Canadian Committee for UNICEF | 143,830 |
17 |
Portuguese Committee for UNICEF | 36,654 |
18 | Belgian Committee for UNICEF | 34,148 |
19 |
Australian Committee for UNICEF | 31,189 |
20 |
UNICEF Hungarian Committee Foundation | 24,031 |
21 |
Slovak Foundation for UNICEF | 8,272 |
Grand Total |
119,013,702 |
We express our gratitude to the partners who supported GHTF, as their contributions are essential to UNICEF’s ability to reach the most vulnerable, crisis-affected and forgotten children. Each one of these resource partners, regardless of the size of their contribution, shares in the achievements of GHTF worldwide.
Global Humanitarian Funding Allocations, 2022
As of 30 November
Destination | Total US$ |
Ethiopia | 6,663,272 |
Somalia | 5,978,245 |
Yemen | 5,859,000 |
Burkina Faso | 5,500,000 |
Kenya | 4,000,000 |
Cluster Coordination** | 4,000,000 |
Mali | 3,208,076 |
Bangladesh | 1,785,000 |
South Sudan | 1,278,351 |
Niger | 1,235,063 |
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | 1,150,000 |
Philippines | 1,058,026 |
Haiti | 1,000,000 |
Syrian Arab Republic | 1,000,000 |
State of Palestine | 879,560 |
Myanmar | 749,436 |
Colombia | 650,000 |
Pakistan | 650,000 |
East Asia and the Pacific Region | 600,000 |
Eastern and Southern Africa Region | 600,000 |
Cross-border response in Chile, Bolivia, and Peru | 600,000 |
Central African Republic | 500,000 |
Democratic Republic of Congo | 500,000 |
Kazakhstan | 500,000 |
Central America and Mexico (Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua) | 500,000 |
Libya | 500,000 |
Malawi | 500,000 |
Republic of Cameroon | 500,000 |
Sri Lanka | 500,000 |
Uganda | 500,000 |
Ukraine | 400,000 |
Iraq | 379,560 |
Armenia | 350,000 |
Ghana | 350,000 |
Guinea | 350,000 |
Latin America and the Caribbean Region | 350,000 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 300,000 |
Greece | 300,000 |
Nigeria | 300,000 |
South Asia Region | 300,000 |
Thailand | 300,000 |
Papua New Guinea | 280,000 |
Tonga | 250,000 |
Azerbaijan | 200,000 |
Benin | 200,000 |
Cote d’Ivoire | 200,000 |
Togo | 200,000 |
West and Central Africa Region | 200,000 |
Brazil | 193,658 |
Ecuador | 150,000 |
Algeria | 100,000 |
Burundi | 100,000 |
Eswatini | 100,000 |
Belarus | 93,658 |
Cuba | 40,000 |
Honduras | 40,000 |
Belize | 20,000 |
Jamaica | 20,000 |
*Above figures exclude allocations to HQ.
** Supports the cluster leadership role to enhance capacity at the field level prioritizing Levels 2 and 3 Emergencies.
Results from 2021
Top resource partners to GHTF, 2021
Rank |
Resource partner |
Total US$ |
|
Netherlands |
19.9m |
|
Swedish Committee for UNICEF |
3.1m |
|
Republic of Korea |
1.0m |
|
Australian Committee for UNICEF |
850,836 |
|
Finnish Committee for UNICEF |
765,578 |
|
Denmark |
662,202 |
|
Netherlands Committee for UNICEF |
642,914 |
|
United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF |
628,901 |
|
Danish UNICEF Committee |
461,113 |
|
German Committee for UNICEF |
351,959 |
Global Humanitarian Funding Allocations, 2021
Destination |
Total US$ |
Haiti |
1,500,000 |
South Sudan | 1,250,000 |
State of Palestine | 1,225,024 |
Afghanistan |
1,150,000 |
Mozambique |
1,146,857 |
Bangladesh |
1,050,000 |
Yemen |
1,000,000 |
Burkina Faso |
900,000 |
Latin America and the Caribbean |
850,000 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
800,000 |
Iraq |
800,000 |
Pakistan |
750,000 |
Central African Republic |
700,000 |
Ethiopia |
700,000 |
West and Central Africa Region |
580,000 |
East Asia and Pacific Region |
550,000 |
Europe and Central Asia Region |
550,000 |
Myanmar |
500,000 |
South Asia Region |
500,000 |
Venezuela |
500,000 |
Syrian Arab Republic |
500,000 |
Cameroon |
400,000 |
Libya |
400,000 |
Tanzania, United Republic of |
345,269 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
300,000 |
Burundi |
300,000 |
Guatemala |
300,000 |
Niger |
300,000 |
Iran |
250,000 |
East and Southern Africa Region |
200,000 |
Eritrea |
200,000 |
Middle East and North Africa Region |
200,000 |
Pacific Island Countries |
200,000 |
Timor-Leste |
200,000 |
Cuba |
150,000 |
Colombia |
150,000 |
El Salvador |
150,000 |
Honduras |
150,000 |
Croatia |
100,000 |
Kyrgyzstan |
100,000 |
Mexico |
100,000 |
Ukraine |
80,000 |
Total |
22,077,150 |
*Above figures exclude allocations to HQ.