camp Syrian refugees in northern Iraq It cuts off access to clean water, sanitation and electricity. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, many people are displaced from their homes and face a life without shelter or basic tools such as fishing and farming tools. South Sudan will close secondary schools for some refugee children this fall.
Funding to mitigate global humanitarian crises lags ever behind the funding needed for critical needs such as shelter, food, water, power and education, according to a United Nations report. Demand, already fueled by pandemics, droughts and other scourges, has soared this year, partly because of the war in Ukraine. Donations from wealthy countries are growing, but not as fast.
“This is the biggest funding shortfall we have ever seen as the number of vulnerable people in need of assistance is growing rapidly. Health, food and children agencies. The private sector organizations it works with need $48.7 billion to help more than 200 million people in 2022, he said, but more than seven months into the year, they have Raised funds. less than one-third of that.
This stark overview hides a stark contrast. Funding for programs to help Ukrainians is relatively abundant. People’s money in most other parts of the world is not.
Most of the aid comes from a handful of donors, including the United States, the European Union, several individual European countries, Japan and Canada. Donors can let the United Nations decide where to allocate funds, but donors can allocate large portions to specific programs and countries.
“This is a perfect storm with many different factors. We have the Ukraine crisis and for domestic political reasons many of the major donors have to put a lot of money into it. Then the usual series of crisis will occur, exacerbated by COVID-19 and the climate,” said Eugene Cheng, a former UN official and UN finance expert.
UN agencies “need to prioritize among their own programs,” he said, adding that without sufficient funding to cover all crises, “unfortunately, some needs cannot be met.” prize”.
The UN Humanitarian Office has made a special request for more than $6 billion this year to help both refugees who have fled Ukraine and those still there. A first appeal to Ukraine raised more than the requested amount.
In contrast, much smaller appeal Haiti 11%, El Salvador 12%, Burundi 14% and Myanmar 17%. For the world’s largest humanitarian crisis involving Syrians, Afghans, Yemenis and Ethiopians, funding levels are somewhat higher, but still well below those of Ukraine.
Kathryn Mahoney, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said: “The war in Ukraine will show how quickly and widely mobilized aid to refugees and respond to humanitarian needs can be done with political commitment. It shows very clearly what
As a stopgap measure, the United Nations has used emergency response funds, but that is not sufficient or sustainable, Griffiths said.
Report from Afghanistan
He said he pleaded with donor countries to extend to others the same generosity they show to Ukrainians, and other UN officials regularly criticized governments and private foundations. I am complaining the same.
In addition to its moral impetus, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a particularly geopolitical threat to wealthy nations that may not expect crises in other parts of the world to directly affect their national interests. The U.S. and its allies see aiding Ukraine as key to punishing and containing Russia, strengthening the alliance, and sending a message to China about the cost of aggression. At the same time, European countries facing the biggest refugee crisis since World War II are sheltering more than 6 million Ukrainians.
Refugees and aid agencies alike, however, say that donor countries are showing far greater interest in Ukraine’s overwhelming white and Christian population than those fleeing violence and deprivation in the Middle East and Africa. is pointed out.
The crisis in Ukraine has seen the UN High Commissioner for Refugees face one of the greatest needs of any UN aid agency. An estimated $10.7 billion this year. There are about 100 million displaced people in the world, up from about 39 million in 2011. Both refugees from places like Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Venezuela, and internally displaced persons in their own countries.
The agency’s fundraising is on track, but we’re still short of our target. But that unmet need will not be felt by Ukrainians.
Overall, 43% of people assisted by refugee agencies live in just 12 countries: Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Iraq, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, Yemen, Bangladesh, Jordan, Lebanon and Colombia. . And in all 12 countries, its programs are running at less than 30% of his funding, forcing critical services to be cut or even suspended.
Without another billion dollars this year agency reported in June, cash assistance is cut by almost half. He has 25% fewer refugees with access to shelters. He has 23% less access to medical facilities. “
In Yemen, millions of people have had their food rations cut. In Jordan’s sprawling Zaatari refugee camp, he has housed refugees from war and oppression in Syria for more than a decade. 9 hours a day. of ethiopia, About 750,000 refugees are at risk of running out of food by October.
Aid officials fear that in the long run, such deprivation could hinder an entire generation’s ability to build a new life.
Budgetary challenges are not new to UN aid agencies. Protracted conflicts in Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan and beyond have forced millions of people from their homes and trapped them in UN-run camps for years.
However, several factors pushed the challenge to a new level. Economic collapse in Afghanistan due to Taliban takeover and withdrawal of international aid. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global food shortages, crop failures due to man-made climate change.
In 2019, the United Nations estimated the need for all humanitarian assistance programs at $27.8 billion, but its funding appeal fell short of that by more than $10 billion. Both are record highs. The next year, the target ballooned to her $38.6 billion, leaving her shortfall at $19.4 billion. The numbers saw him improve slightly in 2021, but surged again this year.
Griffith’s office is seeking $48.7 billion in 2022, about $8 billion more than forecasted at the beginning of the year, and plans to raise just half of that amount.
“Refugees and other displaced persons are being pushed to the brink,” said Mahoney, a spokeswoman for the refugee agency known as UNHCR.