UN Report: 91 Millon People Need USD 22.8 Billion in Humanitarian Aid

In Rakhine State, about 120,000 people continue to live in camps after they fled outbreaks of violence 5 years ago.

Geneva MINA – Some 136 million people across the world need humanitarian aid and protection due to protracted conflicts, natural disasters, epidemics and displacement, according to information obtained by KUNA, citing an annual report by UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

In response to people’s most urgent needs, UN-coordinated humanitarian response plans launched today in Geneva aim to reach 91 million of the most vulnerable people with food, shelter, health care, emergency education, protection and other basic assistance in 2018, it said.

This will require a record USD 22.5 billion in funding, slightly more than the USD 22.2 billion appeal launched for 2017, it added.

In 2017, humanitarian agencies reached tens of millions of people in need, saving millions of lives, and donors provided record levels of funding to Humanitarian Response Plans – nearly USD 13 billion by the end of November 2017.

Together, aid groups and humanitarian donors helped stave off famines in South Sudan, Somalia, north-east Nigeria and Yemen and stepped up to provide rapid assistance to refugees fleeing from violence in Myanmar.

For 2018, needs will remain at exceptionally high levels in Nigeria, South Sudan, the Syria region and Yemen, which is likely to remain the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

In some countries needs will fall, but still remain significant, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Mali, and Ukraine. But at the same time, needs are rising substantially in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and Somalia. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)