UN asks for money for Ukraine's humanitarian needs as war intensifies
Illustrative photo (Getty Images)
The United Nations has appealed for $46 billion for the year 2024 to aid millions of people affected by humanitarian crises worldwide, including in the Palestinian territories, Sudan, and Ukraine, according to Reuters.
In its Global Humanitarian Overview for 2024, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that nearly 300 million people will require humanitarian assistance next year due to conflicts, climate emergencies, and economic factors.
This includes 74.1 million people in East and Southern Africa, a significant portion of whom have been affected by the crisis in Sudan, according to UN humanitarian aid chief Martin Griffiths.
The humanitarian system is facing a serious funding crisis, with just over one-third of the $57 billion needed for assistance being funded last year, as reported by OCHA in its annual assessment of global humanitarian needs.
Griffiths called it the "worst funding shortfall in years" and mentioned the difficulty in decreasing the appeal for 2024 while ensuring that aid agencies are "realistic, focused and tough-minded" in assessing needs.
According to him, the Middle East as a whole, including Gaza and the West Bank, is likely to be the area with the greatest need.
"But Ukraine is going through desperate times and a war that will restart in full swing next year. It will need a lot of attention," he said.
Ukrainian refugees
According to the UN, by the end of 2022, 5.7 million Ukrainians had fled to neighboring countries, creating the fastest displacement crisis and one of the largest since World War II.
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre revealed that the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered the displacement of 16.9 million people – the highest figure ever recorded for any country.
