“Forgotten crises” are defined as severe, protracted humanitarian crisis situations where affected populations are receiving no or insufficient international aid and where there is no political commitment to solve the crisis, due in part to a lack of media interest.

This refers primarily to protracted conflict situations, but can also refer to crises resulting from the cumulative effect of recurring natural disasters, or, even a combination of the two. “Forgotten crises” almost always concern minorities within a country, groups of people whose living conditions are below the average for the country as a whole.

The FCA index results from a combination of the following factors:

• Vulnerability index

• Media coverage

• Donor interest as reflected in the level of public aid received and the qualitative assessment by the Commission’s experts and geographical units

It is essential to balance this type of “top-down” approach with the “bottom-up” approach consisting of analysis by experts on the spot, who can identify humanitarian crisis pockets and back up their proposals for action with a needs assessment that is recent and as comprehensive as possible.