GENEVA (Reuters) – UN humanitarian projects are facing a record funding shortfall this year, with global needs far exceeding pledges, the spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday. (OCHA), Jens Laerke.
According to OCHA, only a third of the 48.7 billion dollars (47.3 billion euros) needed has been secured so far.
The funds are essential to help around 204 million people around the world affected by armed conflict and climate change, from the war in Ukraine to the drought in the Horn of Africa, a factor of “mega-crises” which put in jeopardize the livelihoods of entire communities.
“At more than halfway through the year, the financial deficit stands at $33.6 billion, the largest deficit ever,” Jens Laerke told a press briefing.
“Global needs are growing much faster than donor funding,” he added.
In the first six months of the year, $15.2 billion was raised, which Laerke says is also a record, amid growing humanitarian needs.
The United States was the top donor country, contributing just over $8 billion, and the World Food Program was the top recipient, according to data posted on OCHA’s website.
The approximately $50 billion needed represents all UN appeals for funds worldwide, such as annual humanitarian response plans in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Syria, as well as targeted appeals for Ukraine and appeals regions for refugees in Afghanistan.
(Report Wendell Roelf; French version Dagmarah Mackos, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)