The
United Nations appealed on Thursday for a record $41 billion to provide
life-saving assistance next year to 183 million people worldwide caught up in
conflict and poverty, led by a tripling of its program in Afghanistan.
Famine
remains a "terrifying prospect" for 45 million people living in 43
countries, as extreme weather caused by climate change shrinks food supplies,
the U.N. said in the annual appeal, which reflected a 17% rise in annual
funding needs.
"The
drivers of needs are ones which are familiar to all of us. Tragically, it
includes protracted conflicts, political instability, failing economies ... the
climate crisis, not a new crisis, but one which urges more attention and of
course the COVID-19 pandemic," U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths told
reporters.
In
a report to donors, the world body said: "Without sustained and immediate
action, 2022 could be catastrophic."
Afghanistan,
Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia and Sudan are the five major crises requiring the most
funding, topped by $4.5 billion sought for Taliban-ruled Afghanistan where
"needs are skyrocketing", it said.
In
Afghanistan, more than 24 million people require life-saving assistance, a
dramatic increase driven by political tumult, repeated economic shocks, and
severe food insecurity caused by the worst drought in 27 years.
"We
are in the business in the U.N. of trying to urgently establish with support
from the World Bank as well as the U.N. system, a currency swap initiative
which will allow liquidity to go into the economy," Griffiths said.
"The
absence of cash in Afghanistan is a major impediment to any delivery of
services," he said. "I am hoping that we get it up and running before
the end of this month."
In
Ethiopia, where a year-old conflict between government and Tigrayan forces has
spread into the Amhara and Afar regions, thousands have been displaced, while
fighting, drought and locusts push more to the brink, the U.N. said.
Nearly
26 million Ethiopians require aid, including more than 9 million who depend on
food rations, including 5 million in Tigray, amid rising malnutrition rates, it
said.
"Ethiopia
is the most alarming probably almost certainly in terms of immediate emergency
need," Griffiths said, adding that 400,000 people had been deemed at risk
of famine already in May.
Noting
that heavy fighting continued, with government forces battling Tigrayan
People's Liberation Front forces who have moved closer to the capital Addis
Ababa, he added: "But capacity to respond to an imploded Ethiopia is
almost impossible to imagine."
By Reuters
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