For the past several years, ACAPS has assisted the development and application of severity measures. The assistance was provided in the shape of analytic tools, personnel on mission as well as remote statistical support.
This note builds on key lessons from past needs assessments and recommends good practices for how to measure severity for future ones. It discusses two dominant types of severity measures, illustrated with the measurement efforts that the humanitarian community undertook in two major theaters: sectoral persons-in-need estimates combined with severity ratings (2016 Syria Humanitarian Needs Overview), and non-sectoral indices combining vulnerability, exposure and intensity indicators (2015 earthquakes in Nepal). It demonstrates specific improvements in both types.