UN Chief claims 274 million people will need urgent humanitarian aid in 2022

Amid the soaring humanitarian crisis in several African and Middle East countries, the United Nations said at least 274 million people need emergency help in the upcoming year. According to the agency, countries like Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Syria and Yemen would face serious challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and hunger. It estimated around a jump of 17% in the number of people who will need urgent assistance in 2022. As per the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations need a donation of $41 billion in order to help 183 million people who are in need of urgent help.   

Women and girls will be badly affected: UN 

"The climate crisis is hitting the world’s most vulnerable people first and worst. Protracted conflicts grind on, and instability has worsened in several parts of the world, notably Ethiopia, Myanmar and Afghanistan,” said Martin Griffiths, the head of OCHA. “The pandemic is not over, and poor countries are deprived of vaccines," added Griffiths.

According to the statement released on December 2, the intergovernmental organization aiming to maintain international peace and security said more than 1% of the world’s population is displaced. Highlighting the consequences of displacement, it said that the displacement will push more people into extreme poverty. Speaking about women and girls, it said this community will suffer the most due to gender inequalities and protection risks. Famine remains a terrifying prospect for 45 million people in 43 countries.

"In South Sudan, over half a million people were brought back from the brink of famine. In Yemen, health partners conducted more than 10 million medical consultations. And hundreds of millions of dollars in cash assistance have been put in the hands of families with few other means of survival," noted the UN body. Regarding Afghanistan, the agency said more than 24 million people require life-saving assistance in Afghanistan, driven by conflict, political turmoil, the coronavirus, economic shocks and the worst drought in more than a generation. "We never left Afghanistan. And we are there now with a projected program for 2022, three times the size of the program for 2021 — because of the various needs and circumstances that you know so well," he said.

Image: Twitter/@UNReliefChief