CIRV: a composite index for humanitarian financing

In this paper, we present a composite index, measuring the overall severity, scale and scope of humanitarian needs, vulnerabilities and risks in over 150 countries. The CERF Index for Risk and Vulnerability or CIRV gives a big-picture overview of the humanitarian situation, in countries with and without a humanitarian response plan. The index relies heavily on the INFORM Risk and Severity indices but adds key dimensions that are missing or underrepresented in the INFORM indices, centered on food insecurity, conflict and early warning. We discuss current and potential uses of the CIRV, including informing decision-making on funding allocations. Evidence-based allocation decisions are particularly important in light of global funding cuts. We also discuss the limitations of the index, which provides a high-level view that needs to be completed by other inputs, especially contextual information.