UN chief urges international community to fund lifesaving operations

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community on Thursday to provide lifesaving assistance to people who are in dire circumstances.

"The 2023 Global Humanitarian Overview calls for 51.5 billion U.S. dollars to bring lifesaving support to 230 million of the most vulnerable people," the top UN official said in his video message at the launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview 2023, noting that "funding these lifesaving operations is a source of hope for millions of people in desperate need."

Guterres underscored the appalling situation in 2022, saying that this year "has been a year of extremes" featuring the fact that "conflict brought misery to millions of people, the war in Ukraine accelerated the global food and energy crises, diseases from cholera to COVID-19 claimed lives and disrupted economies, and the climate crisis is causing deadly drought and unprecedented floods."

Furthermore, global hunger had reached record levels, he said.

The year is coming to an end with famine looming in five different parts of the world, he added.

"The United Nations and our humanitarian partners have met the challenge, supporting and protecting 157 million people worldwide," he said.

"From Nepal to South Sudan, we read the signs and took preventive action before crises hit. We listened to people and communities and tailored our programs to meet their needs. We provided more than 2 billion dollars in cash assistance, so people in crisis situations could at least make their own spending decisions," Guterres said.

The donors were generous, giving close to 24 billion dollars. However, "needs still outpace spending, creating a 60 percent funding gap," he said.

Humanitarian demands are projected to continue increasing next year, said the UN chief, noting that "in 2023, we forecast some 339 million people will need humanitarian aid and protection, an increase of 65 million since the beginning of 2022."