World humanitarian aid needs reach record levels

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World humanitarian aid needs reach record levels

10:49 CAT | 07 Dec 2016

Monique Pariat, Director General of the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) on her first field visit, to South Sudan. © ac.europa

The United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian aid (OCHA) announced on Monday that it will need US$22 billion to help the victims of conflicts and people affected by natural disasters next year.

The 10 percent rise in the agency budget is justified mainly by the deterioration of humanitarian conditions in countries like Syria, the Yemen and Sudan, which will absorb more than a third of the budget.

The appeal launched yesterday by the OCHA aims to deliver humanitarian aid to 93 million people in 33 countries, almost two-thirds of which are in Africa.

This is the largest amount that the OCHA – which supports UN agencies as well as non-governmental organizations – has ever requested, according to its Chairman, Stephen O’Brien, quoted by the Associated Press (AP).

“This reflects a state of humanitarian need in the world we haven’t seen since the Second World War. More than 128 million people urgently need our support and solidarity to survive and live in safety and with dignity,” O’Brien told journalists in Geneva.

“More than 80 percent of the needs result from conflicts, many of which have reached an impasse and have needed more and more humanitarian aid over the years,” he continued.

Global humanitarian calls like these do not generally reach their target amount and are based on estimates, but establish important benchmarks for global needs.

According to an OCHA statement, the conflicts in Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and Nigeria are the ones that raise concerns, but climate change and natural disasters such as those caused by El Niño, “are pushing many communities to the edge of survival”.

Source: Jornal Notícias