The United Nations is allocating $150 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to support underfunded humanitarian efforts in 13 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East.
Sudan, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo top the list of underfunded crises. $20 to $25 million each will be allocated to these countries to assist in implementing lifesaving humanitarian operations.
The international community has all but abandoned Syria after more than a decade of conflict. 13 million Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons are living in destitution, with little access to basic assistance.
The humanitarian crisis in the DRC is among the longest and most complicated. Acute hunger, conflicts, displacements, and epidemics are affecting millions of people.
UN says the humanitarian crisis in Sudan is deepening, as political instability increases and flooding, food prices and disease outbreaks worsen.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesperson, Jens Laerke, said it is the largest distribution of funds in the history of the office. According to him, it beats last year’s $135 million by $15 million.
“This announcement of funding will help the prioritization of life-saving projects to respond to for example food security, nutrition, health, and protection needs. More detailed strategies are expected from these countries later this month,” he said.
Other recipients include Myanmar, where the United Nations supports three million people suffering from conflict, COVID-19, and a failing economy. The United Nations assistance will also go to Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger, three countries in Africa’s central Sahel that are suffering from mass displacement caused by armed conflict.
Laerke says these countries, along with six others in dire need in Africa, the Middle East and the Americas — including Haiti and Honduras — will receive between $5- and $12 million each from the United Nations to aid in their emergency operations.
“These allocations happen twice a year to countries selected because of their low level of funding, severity of humanitarian needs, and vulnerability,” he said. “These countries have just entered a new cycle of humanitarian fundraising and program implementation on the back of underfunded appeals from last year, all below 50 percent covered at year’s end.”
Around the world, the need for humanitarian assistance is growing. In 2022, the UN estimates that 274 million people will need humanitarian assistance, requiring $41 billion to assist the most vulnerable.
The world’s biggest humanitarian appeal is for Afghanistan. The UN announced a record $4.5 billion appeal for 22 million Afghans, or more than half of the country’s population.