London, 12th December 2023 – Today, the United Nations launched its £37 billion appeal to support 180.5 million people across 72 countries with humanitarian aid and protection. With armed conflicts on the rise, a worsening climate crisis and growing global inequality, hunger levels are also set to increase in 2024, however, falling resources mean that millions of people will not be reached.
According to the UN’s latest figures, it received only one-third of the £45 billion that was appealed for in 2023, which meant that only 62 per cent of people in need of humanitarian assistance were reached.
Kate Munro, Head of Advocacy at Action Against Hunger UK, said:
“With more hunger, more conflict, and more people in crises, it is devastating to see the huge gap in funding to meet humanitarian needs this year. This gulf between growing humanitarian needs around the world and what is being provided by donors has meant that the UN and its partners are able to provide assistance to less people, and have subsequently reduced the size of their appeal.”
“Sudan, for example, is grappling with a brutal conflict and mass displacement, yet the huge funding gap has meant that aid agencies were unable to support seven out of 10 people they had planned to reach, while between May and November 2023, 10 million people lost access to food aid in Afghanistan. This trend of a widening funding gap, encapsulated by the reduced size of this year’s appeal, means the number of people receiving assistance to prevent, predict and treat life-threatening hunger could fall even further in 2024.”