ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The United Nations appealed on Friday for a record high of $22.5 in humanitarian aid for 2018 to reach 91 million of the world’s most vulnerable people needing protection and assistance due to conflicts, displacement, natural disasters and epidemics.
Syria and Yemen were mentioned among the countries that will require the most in humanitarian need due to regional conflicts. Over $10 billion is needed to address the humanitarian crises in these two countries alone.
Syria’s ongoing civil war which is entering its seventh year, along with the fight against ISIS has created needs that require $3.5 billion of humanitarian aid inside the country and another $4.2 billion to assist the 5.4 million registered Syrian refugees in neighboring countries.
Yemen, which is currently facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, including 11 million children of which 400,000 are affected by severe malnutrition, will require $2.5 billion in aid.
The statement also read that in some countries, including Iraq where ISIS has been ousted, the humanitarian needs have declined but still remain present.
“Humanitarians can only respond to the growing needs with the generous support of our donors,” said Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretery-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator in a press release.
Lowcock says that the UN-coordinated humanitarian response plans will provide people with food, shelter, health care, protection, emergency education and other basic assistance in 2018.
Meanwhile Helle Thorning-Schmidt, CEO of Save the Children International said “With this unprecedented level of humanitarian need, we at Save the Children have a lot to do.”
Schmidt added that they were working hard to find “quicker and more effective ways to use every dollar donated well.”
She also urged aid from governments and institutions to “take a longer term approach by tackling the cause of these crises as well as the symptoms.”
“By brokering peace agreements, investing in education, helping communities build resilience to climate shocks, and speaking up when people are persecuted. Without this, we will continue to see a record level of suffering,” she said.
