GENEVA, A total of 274 million people worldwide will need emergency aid and protection in 2022, a 17 per cent increase compared to last year, UN humanitarians said on Thursday.
The amount is equivalent to “the world’s fourth most populous country”, Martin Griffiths, UN Humanitarian Affairs chief said at the launch of the 2022 Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) in Geneva.
The document, published annually by the United Nations and partners, includes 37 response plans covering 63 countries.
It estimates that $41 billion is required to provide relief and protection to the 183 million people most in need.
“The climate crisis is hitting the world’s most vulnerable people first and worst. Protracted conflicts grind on, and instability has worsened in several parts of the world,” Mr. Griffiths said, “and of course the COVID-19 pandemic, which we have recently been reminded, has not gone away” with poor countries deprived of vaccines.
“My goal is that this global appeal can go some way to restoring a glimmer of hope for millions of people who desperately need it”.
According to the report, more than one percent of the world’s population is displaced and extreme poverty is rising again.
In most crises, women and girls suffer the most, as gender inequalities and protection risks are heightened.
There are also 45 million people living in 43 countries, at risk of famine, Mr. Griffiths noted.
To prevent famine globally and to address the major threats driving food insecurity: conflict, the climate crisis, COVID-19 and economic shocks, some 120 civil-society organizations – nearly 100 of them based in countries hard hit by hunger – have issued a joint letter urging world leaders to fully fund the response.
In 2021 “thanks to generous donors” the humanitarian system “rose to the challenge” and delivered food, medicines, health care and other essential assistance to 107 million people this year – 70 percent of the target.
The humanitarian chief thanked international donors and Member States who, so far in 2021, have provided more than $17 billion for projects included in the GHO, despite the economic stress brought on by the pandemic.
Source: Emirates News Agency