Humanitarian targeting

Definition. A method used by humanitarian organisations to determine which people, households or areas should receive priority assistance when needs differ in nature or severity.

Key points. Targeting is based on criteria derived from the circumstances of affected populations: level of food insecurity, malnutrition, displacement, loss of livelihoods, isolation, health status, age, household composition or particular exposure to danger.

It may be geographical, when assistance is directed primarily towards particular areas, or individual, when beneficiaries are identified according to their own circumstances. Several criteria may be combined.

Targeting does not necessarily mean that populations who do not receive assistance have no need for it. When available resources fall short of identified needs, targeting also serves to allocate assistance that has become insufficient. The threshold for receiving assistance then depends on the quantity of resources that organisations are actually able to distribute.

The quality of targeting depends on the information available. Population movements, insecurity, inability to reach certain areas or outdated data may rapidly alter the circumstances on which a decision was based.

Related concepts. Humanitarian aid · Acute food insecurity · Forced displacement · Humanitarian funding shortfall