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UN seeks record $51.5bn to help those on the brink in 2023

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THE UN and partners yesterday appealed for a record $51.5 billion (about R900bn) in aid money for 2023, with millions of additional people expected to need assistance, testing the humanitari­an response system “to its limits”. The appeal represents a 25% increase on 2022.

The UN Global Humanitari­an Overview estimates an extra 65 million people will need help next year, bringing the total to 339 million in 68 countries. That represents more than 4% of the people on the planet or about the population of the US.

“Humanitari­an needs are shockingly high, as this year’s extreme events are spilling into 2023,” said UN Emergency Relief co-ordinator Martin Griffiths, citing the war in Ukraine and drought in the Horn of Africa.

“For people on the brink, this appeal is a lifeline,” he said.

More than 100 million people have been driven from their homes as conflict and climate change fuel a displaceme­nt crisis.

Nine months of war between Russia and Ukraine have disrupted food exports and around 45 million people in 37 countries are currently facing starvation, the report said.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to major setbacks in child vaccinatio­n programmes and has thwarted efforts to end extreme poverty, fuelling other diseases such as cholera, Griffiths said at the launch yesterday.

For the first time ever, 10 countries have individual appeals of more than $1bn – Afghanista­n, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.

But donor funding is already under strain with the multiple crises, forcing aid workers to make tough decisions on priorities.

The UN faces the biggest funding gap ever, with its unmet funding at 53% in 2022, based on data through to mid-november. “The humanitari­an response system is being tested to its limits,” Griffiths said.

Unlike in other parts of the UN where fees depend on countries’ economic size, humanitari­an funding is voluntary and relies overwhelmi­ngly on Western donations.

The US is by far the biggest donor, giving over $14bn so far this year, while other major economies, such as China and India, have given less than $10million each.

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