UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Wednesday launched an appeal seeking 47 billion U.S. dollars in 2025 to aid 190 million people amid multiple escalating crises worldwide.
"In 2025, 305 million people around the world will require urgent humanitarian assistance and protection, as multiple crises escalate with devastating consequences for the people affected by them," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in the newly released Global Humanitarian Overview.
The report said the actual number of people targeted for relief is 189.5 million. In 2024, about 116 million people were reached.
"The world is on fire," Tom Fletcher, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said in the report, noting two main culprits of the current global humanitarian crisis are both artificial.
The first culprit is conflicts, the relief chief said, which are lasting longer and are hitting children particularly hard. Almost 123 million people were driven from their homes by conflict this year, according to UN data.
The second is climate emergency, with the most vulnerable people shouldering the lion's share of the impacts, Fletcher said, stressing that the world needs to reset its relationship with those in greatest need.
"In the absence of meaningful action to end and prevent conflicts and halt global warming, people are facing increasingly prolonged crises," the report warned.
According to OCHA's estimates, the average duration of a humanitarian plan/appeal is now 10 years, with plans/appeals in the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Somalia and Sudan having run consecutively for over 20 years.
"The longer a humanitarian crisis lasts, the bleaker the prospects become for affected people," it said.
However, the situation was not all bleak.
In a small number of countries, the situation has improved, the report said. Six countries that were responding to time-limited climate emergencies will conclude their humanitarian response plans/appeals by the end of 2024, and therefore, people in need in these countries are not included in the document.
The climate emergencies included floods in Burundi, Libya and Nepal, hurricanes in Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and a cyclone and drought in Madagascar.
Significant vulnerabilities remain, underscoring the need for rapid investments in locally led development and climate financing to help the most affected communities adapt to future threats, the report said.
Funding shortfalls persist. As of Oct. 17, the 2024 global appeal for 48.65 billion dollars was only 35 percent funded, OCHA said.
The Global Humanitarian Overview is an annual assessment of global humanitarian needs and how to respond to them. This document provides an overview of the resources required to support people targeted for assistance. ■
