Humanitarian appeals launched

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday launched consolidated interagency appeals for US $2.26 billion designed to alleviate the suffering of more than 35 million people around the world. “That is less than the world spends on military purposes in a single day,” Annan said in New York. “The people on whose behalf I speak do not want hand-outs: they want a helping hand in their efforts to help themselves.” Annan emphasised the importance of well-funded and coordinated humanitarian action, citing the example of East Timor where a rapid and generous response by donors helped to avert a crisis last year. But he noted that this year the UN had received only 55 percent of the funds it sought. Flagging support for UN appeals risked marginalising the organisation’s efforts while increasing the enormous burden borne by countries affected by humanitarian emergencies.[For full story, see separate IRIN item of 28 November headlined “UN: Over $2 billion sought to help millions worldwide”] Click here: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/other/20001128.phtml In Brussels, the UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Sergio Vieira de Mello, accused governments of responding “more and more slowly and less and less generously”. He told a news conference on Wednesday that many contributions arrived too late. “We would like more regular and more predictable contributions,” he said, according to IRIN sources attending the news conference. “In November 2000, the contributions were inferior to those of November last year,” he stressed. “The appeals reflect current needs.”