The UN has launched an appeal for over $47 billion (€44.6bn) to provide essential aid next year, cautioning that escalating conflicts and the climate crisis will leave hundreds of millions in need.
“The world is ablaze,” remarked the United Nations’ new humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher during a press briefing in Geneva, expressing his concerns for 2025 with a sense of “dread.”
With conflicts intensifying in regions such as Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine, and as climate change and extreme weather increasingly take their toll, the UN has estimated that 305 million people worldwide will require some form of emergency assistance next year.
“We are currently facing a poly-crisis globally, and it is the most vulnerable populations who are bearing the brunt,” Mr. Fletcher stated, cautioning that growing inequality, combined with the intersection of conflict and climate change, has resulted in a “perfect storm” of needs.
Displaced individuals find shelter in a camp in the al-Jazira state of Gedaref, eastern Sudan.
The annual request from UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations is aiming for $47.4bn for 2025 – a slight decrease compared to this year’s appeal – which is deemed sufficient to assist the 189.5 million most vulnerable individuals.
“We are unable to reach 115 million people with this plan,” Mr. Fletcher acknowledged.
Highlighting the substantial “donor fatigue” affecting humanitarian efforts globally, he emphasized the necessity of developing a “realistic” strategy, which will involve prioritization and making “really tough, tough choices.”
“We must focus intensely on reaching those in urgent need and be absolutely ruthless,” he asserted.
As of last month, merely 43% of the $50bn appeal for this year had been fulfilled.
Insufficient funding has led to an 80% reduction in food assistance in Syria, cuts to protective services in Myanmar, and decreased water and sanitation support in cholera-afflicted Yemen, according to the UN.
The most significant obstacles to assisting and protecting individuals in armed conflict are the extensive violations of international law.
So far, 2024 has already marked the deadliest year for humanitarian workers, exceeding last year’s toll of 280 fatalities.
The global humanitarian system “is overstretched, underfunded, and literally under attack,” Mr. Fletcher noted.
“We need a surge in global solidarity.”
Conflicts in regions like Gaza are contributing to an ‘overstretched’ humanitarian framework.
Concerns are also growing that Donald Trump’s potential return to the presidency in the United States—the world’s largest humanitarian donor—could result in aid agency budgets being slashed instead of increased next year.
Mr. Fletcher stated that he intends to “spend a lot of time in Washington” in the coming months to connect with the new administration.
The “significantly harsher global climate (is) not solely about America,” he noted, adding that he plans to “knock down doors” globally to advocate for increased support.
By mid-2024, a record 123 million individuals were displaced from their homes due to conflict, while one in five children worldwide is either living in or fleeing conflict zones, according to UN data.
“The suffering behind these statistics is even more unacceptable because it is man-made,” Mr. Fletcher stated.
“The wars in Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine stand out for their brutality and intensity, the blatant disregard for international law, and the intentional hindrance of our humanitarian efforts to save lives.”
Meanwhile, numerous long-standing crises continue to fester, with average humanitarian operations now lasting a decade, as per the UN’s report.
“The longer these crises persist, the grimmer the outcomes,” Mr. Fletcher warned, noting that “life expectancy declines, vaccination rates fall, education deteriorates, maternal mortality escalates, and the threat of famine intensifies.”
Even more concerning, he remarked, is the increasing convergence of conflicts with climate-induced disasters that are ravaging communities, destroying food systems, and prompting mass displacement.
“My fear is that these two immense drivers of need are now intertwining,” he stated.
