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A man with children in Pakistani floods: "For people who are on the brink, this appeal is a lifeline"
Photo: Fida Hussain / AFP
Against the background of the war in Ukraine, climate catastrophes and other crises, the United Nations sees a record need for humanitarian aid in 2023.
According to an annual report by the United Nations, 51.5 billion dollars (around 49.6 billion euros) will be needed in the coming year.
This is intended to help the 230 million most vulnerable people in 68 countries.
The head of the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Aid (Ocha), Martin Griffiths, spoke on Thursday of the “biggest humanitarian program” the world has ever seen.
A total of 339 million people would be dependent on various forms of emergency aid by 2023, according to the Ocha report “Global Humanitarian Overview”.
That's 65 million more than the UN office estimated for 2022 - one in 23 people.
"It's a massive number and a depressing number," Griffiths said.
If all the people in need of emergency aid were in one country, it would be the third largest nation in the world after India and China, he continued.
In 2022, less than half of the requested amount was raised
"For people on the brink, this call is a lifeline," Griffiths said.
Deadly droughts and floods would wreak "devastating damage on communities from Pakistan to the Horn of Africa."
In addition, the war in Ukraine has "turned part of Europe into a battlefield," he added.
More and more people were living as refugees, asylum seekers or displaced persons in their own country.
"And this is all on top of the devastation the pandemic has wreaked on the world's poorest," Griffiths said.
The Ocha chief also pointed out that parts of the population of Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Haiti and Somalia are already suffering "catastrophic hunger" even though a nationwide famine has not yet been declared.
In the previous year, the UN and its partners had estimated the need for 2022 at 41 billion dollars.
In the course of the year, the required amount had been corrected to 50 billion.
Less than half of the requested amount came together.
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