Local Editor
The United Nations appealed Monday for a record US$22.2 billion to provide aid in 2017 to surging numbers of people hit by conflicts and disasters around the world.
The work of humanitarians "is more necessary and courageous than ever," UN humanitarian aid chief Stephen O’Brien said in Monday’s report.
"More people have humanitarian needs, not least because of protracted crises lasting longer and longer."
The global appeal by UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations aims to gather funds to help the 92.8 million most vulnerable of the nearly 129 million people expected to require assistance across 33 countries next year.
The numbers are staggering, especially when considering that three war-ravaged countries - Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan - alone account for about a third of all of those in need.
The UN plans to spend $1.9 billion to help the victims of Yemen’s brutal war, which has escalated dramatically since a Saudi-led coalition launched its military campaign in March 2015.
The amount appealed for tops the $20.1 billion requested last December for 2016 - a year when "humanitarian actors have saved, protected and supported more people than in any previous year since the founding of the United Nations," O’Brien said.
In the end, the UN broadened its 2016 appeal to $22.1 billion, but donors coughed up just $11.4 billion for aid projects this year.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
