The United Nations has appealed, Thursday, for a record 51.5 billion dollars in aid funding for next year to help 230 million of the world’s most vulnerable people in nearly 70 countries.
Speaking in Geneva at the launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview report 2023, UN’s top humanitarian official Martin Griffiths described the appeal as a “lifeline” for people on the brink.
“It’s a phenomenal and depressing number,” the UN official told reporters, adding that next year is going to be the biggest humanitarian program the world has ever seen.
Griffiths referred to the humanitarian needs as “shockingly high”, as the extreme events seen in 2022 spill into 2023. “Lethal droughts and floods are wreaking havoc in communities from Pakistan to the Horn of Africa,”
The report painted a grim picture of rising requirements caused by various conflicts, deteriorating instability, and a worsening environmental crisis.
By the end of this year, 222 million people in 53 countries are expected to experience acute food insecurity, with 45 million of them at risk of famine.
The Global Humanitarian Overview is the world’s most comprehensive and evidence-based overview of the current state and future trends in humanitarian action.