The United Nations has appealed for $7.4 billion to provide urgent humanitarian aid to 50 million people next year
LONDON (AlertNet) - The United Nations has appealed for $7.4 billion to provide urgent humanitarian aid to 50 million people next year - the biggest ever of its annual humanitarian appeals.
“Every human being has a right to safety, stability and security, and it is within our power to make this right a reality,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said.
The sum covers appeals for the West Africa region and 13 countries: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Haiti, Kenya, Niger, the occupied Palestinian territory, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
“The strong response to the mega-disasters this year in Haiti and Pakistan shows what is possible when the international community comes together,” said Valerie Amos, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.
The appeal is a co-ordinated effort by hundreds of aid organisations including U.N. agencies and non-governmental organisations.
The greatest funding need is for Sudan which requires $1.7 billion, while Haiti needs $907 million.
The sum doesn’t include ongoing appeals launched earlier this year for the Pakistan floods (which still needs another $1 billion) and post conflict recovery in Kyrgyzstan ($42 million).
GENEROSITY
Ban said the disasters in Haiti and Pakistan had brought forth “a remarkable outpouring of generosity”.
However, he warned that recovery from the global recession had been slow, and funding for many crises had suffered.
“I urge member states and private donors to reverse that trend in 2011,” he said in a forward to the report accompanying the appeal.
“The degree of help that desperate people receive depends directly on voluntary contributions.
“In response to the tragedy in Haiti, many member states that are not among the wealthiest in the world donated significant amounts to the relief and recovery effort. Their generosity is an inspiration to us all.”
The United Nations said humanitarian needs had eased slightly in some protracted crises. Parts of Somalia have better food security following adequate rains and harvests. Niger’s food crisis has lessened and food security has improved somewhat in Zimbabwe.
However it said there were indications other crises would be as severe as ever. Food and fuel prices are still well above historical averages. The recession has hit trade, which affects even the poorest, and remittances, which affect them even more directly.
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