Next year will set another record for humanitarian relief requirements, with 339 million people in need of assistance in 69 countries, an increase of 65 million people compared to the same time last year, the United Nations (UN) and humanitarian partner organizations said today. The estimated cost of the humanitarian response going into 2023 is US$51.5 billion (EUR 49.3 billion), a 25 per cent increase compared to the beginning of 2022.
By the end of 2022 at least 222 million people in 53 countries will face acute food insecurity while 45 million people in 37 countries risk starvation. In 2023 the United Nations and partner organizations aim to assist 230 million people most in need across 69 countries.
“Humanitarian needs are shockingly high, as this year’s extreme events are spilling into 2023,” said the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths. “Lethal droughts and floods are wreaking havoc in communities from Pakistan to the Horn of Africa. The war in Ukraine has turned a part of Europe into a battlefield. More than 100 million people are now displaced worldwide. And all of this on top of the devastation left by the pandemic among the world’s poorest, “ Mr. Griffiths said. “For people on the brink, this appeal is a lifeline. For the international community, it is a strategy to make good on the pledge to leave no one behind.”
The UN, in collaboration with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other humanitarian partners, have launched today the 2023 Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO). The response plans in the yearly assessment of global humanitarian needs detail how relief agencies working together around specific types of aid – including shelter, food, maternal health, child nutrition and protection – can save and support the lives of millions of people worldwide.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in 2022, humanitarian organizations have delivered assistance to stave off the most urgent needs of 157 million people so far. This includes food assistance for 127 million people; sufficient safe water for nearly 26 million people; livelihood assistance for 24 million people; mental health and psychosocial support for 13 million children and caregivers; maternal health consultations for 5.2 million mothers; and health-care services for 5.8 million refugees and asylum-seekers.
International Donors have provided $24 billion in funding as of mid-November 2022, but needs are rising faster than the financial support. According to OCHA, the global funding gap for humanitarian operations has never been greater, currently at 53 per cent ($27.6 billion). Humanitarian organizations are therefore forced to decide who to target with the scarce funds available.
The Global Humanitarian Overview is a comprehensive and evidence-based assessment of global humanitarian needs. It provides a snapshot of current and future trends in humanitarian action for large-scale resource mobilization efforts. The GHO 2023 includes country-specific Humanitarian Response Plans for Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen.
The GHO 2023 includes Flash Appeals and other plans for Kenya, Lebanon, Madagascar and Pakistan. Regional inter-agency plans for neighboring countries are also included for the crises in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Horn of Africa and Yemen, Rohingya, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela.
Further information
Full text: Global Humanitarian Overview 2023, United Nations, abridged report, released December 1, 2022
https://reliefweb.int/attachments/e5564153-e77d-4615-8c4a-a4f82c07eab9/GHO-2023-Abridged-EN_final.pdf
Website: Global Humanitarian Overview 2023
https://humanitarianaction.info/
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