UN seeks record $51.5bn aid ‘lifeline’ for 2023

The UN estimates that 339 million people worldwide will need emergency assistance next year.

The United Nations and its partners have launched an appeal for a record $51.5bn in aid money for 2023, with tens of millions of additional people expected to need humanitarian assistance.

The UN Global Humanitarian Overview estimates that an extra 65 million people will need help next year, bringing the total to 339 million in 68 countries.

That represents more than 4 percent of the people on the planet or about the population of the United States.

“It’s a phenomenal number and a depressing number,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told reporters in Geneva on Thursday, adding that it meant “next year is going to be the biggest humanitarian program” the world has ever had seen.

“Humanitarian needs are shockingly high, as this year’s extreme events are spilling into 2023,” Griffiths said, citing the war in Ukraine and drought in the Horn of Africa.

“For people on the brink, this appeal is a lifeline.”

Over 100 million people have been driven from their homes as conflict and climate change heighten a displacement crisis.

Agencies