UN Appeals for $41 Billion to Help People in Conflict-Torn Regions

On Thursday, the United Nations appealed for an aid package of $41 billion for an estimated 183 million people worldwide caught up in conflict and poverty, led by a tripling of its program in Afghanistan.

Speaking to media, U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said: "The drivers of needs are ones which are familiar to all of us. Tragically, it includes protracted conflicts, political instability, failing economies ... the climate crisis, not a new crisis, but one which urges more attention and of course the COVID-19 pandemic."

"Without sustained and immediate action, 2022 could be catastrophic."

According to its latest annual appeal, which reflected a 17% rise in annual funding needs, Famine remains a "terrifying prospect" for 45 million people living in 43 countries, as extreme weather caused by climate change shrinks food supplies.

The appeal noted that Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, and Sudan are the five major crises requiring the most funding, topped by $4.5 billion sought for Taliban-ruled Afghanistan where "needs are skyrocketing."

In the recent report by the UN, it mentioned that more than 24 million people in Afghanistan require life-saving assistance, a dramatic increase driven by political tumult, repeated economic shocks, and severe food insecurity caused by the worst drought in 27 years.

While, Ethiopia, where a year-old conflict between the government and Tigrayan forces has spread into the Amhara and Afar regions, thousands have been displaced, while fighting, drought, and locusts push more to the brink, the U.N. said.

Around 26 million Ethiopians require aid, including more than 9 million who depend on food rations, including 5 million in Tigray, amid rising malnutrition rates, it said.