Humanitarian Aid & Peacekeeping

UN seeks record $51.5 billion in aid to extend ‘lifeline’ to people in need worldwide

While many developing nations suffered droughts and floods — from Pakistan to the Horn of Africa — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted food supply lines and turned a large swath of Europe into a battlefield.

, and Ronald Powers

December 1, 2022 . 9:31 PM

3 min read

A city in Pakistan's Sindh province of Pakistan almost completely underwater in August 2022. (AN/Ali Hyder Junejo)

With more than 4% of the world’s people in need of assistance, the United Nations is seeking a record US$51.5 billion to help the most needy and vulnerable in nearly 70 countries.

Martin Griffiths, the U.N.’s top emergency relief official, on Thursday described the needs as “shockingly high” saying that he expects that this year’s humanitarian emergencies to continue into 2023.

Speaking in Geneva at the launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview report for 2023, Griffiths cited the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing effects of climate change.