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UN launches $ 3 billion appeal to help fifty million people in crisis

The United Nations appealed today for more than three billion dollars to help fifty million people in thirty countries and regions throughout the world. “This amounts to less than fifty cents per person,” Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Carolyn McAskie said at the launch in New York. The total amount requested does not include the financial requirements for Afghanistan and Ethiopia, McAskie said. A spokesperson for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Stephanie Bunker, told IRIN that in Afghanistan the government was still reviewing the figures, whereas in Ethiopia the assessment of humanitarian needs had not yet been completed. The theme of the 2003 Consolidated Appeals, “Hope for the Future,” emphasizes the importance of providing hope to communities ravaged by conflict or other crises. But it also stresses the need to support countries emerging from disaster such as Sierra Leone. “Humanitarian aid is not an end in itself but must be accompanied by efforts to build a bridge from disaster to development, and from the ravages of war to the resumption of a normal life,” McAskie said. Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, who also participated in the launch in New York, added: “In Eritrea, people need assistance to consolidate peace and build a strong and stable future. In Angola, where there is a real possibility of peace, we must ensure that this peace can take root and grow.” In developing Consolidated Appeals, United Nations Agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governments work in partnership to ensure common analysis and strategy development to promote efficiency, accountability, and a good use of resources. Venezuelan ambassador Milos Alcalay, speaking as Chairman of the “Group of 77” developing countries, said that regular and predictable funding was the backbone of any successful action to combat humanitarian crises and that the humanitarian work of the United Nations was of vital importance. “Ninety percent of disaster victims are in developing countries,” Alcalay said. A key objective of the appeal process is to raise awareness of the millions of people with acute humanitarian needs in order to help provide food, shelter, medicine and life-saving assistance to them. “We must speak on behalf of the world’s suffering,” McAskie said. Almost $2.5 billion has been received in 2002 through the Consolidated Appeal mechanism, 57 % of overall requirements. In Africa, $ 908 million has been given to meet the needs of 27 million people, which represents just under half of the total amount requested for that continent. “Four countries – Afghanistan, Angola, DPRK and Sudan – have received two thirds of all the funding in 2002,” McAskie said. “Almost half the money contributed has gone to Afghanistan” McAskie added that $ 1.5 million in this year’s appeal was given to the World Food Programme (WFP), and urged donors to increase their contributions to other sectors such as water and sanitation, education and health. “Sixty-five percent of epidemics around the world occur in complex emergencies,” she said. The humanitarian crises included in this year’s appeals are those in Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federation), Cote d’Ivoire (and West Africa sub-region), Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Great Lakes Region, Guinea, Indonesia, Liberia, occupied Palestinian territory, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Southern Africa Region, Sudan, Tajikistan, and Uganda. The launch of the consolidated appeals is also being held today and tomorrow in seven other cities around the world: Washington, D.C., Brussels, Luxembourg, New York, the Hague, Tokyo and Canberra. Because humanitarian crises are by nature volatile, the UN reviews and updates its appeals throughout the year, adjusting requirements in response to changing needs and launching new requests in response to sudden disasters.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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