Geneva: As COVID-19 wreaks havoc, 235 million people worldwide will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2021 — an increase of 40 per cent in a year. As the lives of people in every nation and corner of the world have been upended by the impact of the pandemic, extreme poverty has risen for the first time in 22 years and multiple famines loom on the horizon..
If all those who will need humanitarian aid next year lived in one country, it would be as big as the world’s fifth largest nation!
The United Nations said along with its partners, it now aimed to help 160 million of the most vulnerable people who face hunger, conflict, displacement, and the impacts of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, at an estimated cost of $35 billion. The estimated amount is more than double of what international donors had given for collective humanitarian response in 2020, which still stood at a record $17 billion!
The Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) 2021, that sets out 34 response plans covering 56 vulnerable countries, was presented here today at an event with opening remarks from UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock, and the participation of donor representatives and national and international NGOs. Subsequent presentations will take place on the same day in Berlin, Brussels, London and Washington, D.C.
“The humanitarian system again proved its worth in 2020, delivering food, medicines, shelter, education and other essentials to tens of millions of people,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
“But the crisis is far from over. Humanitarian aid budgets face dire shortfalls as the impact of the global pandemic continues to worsen. Together, we must mobilize resources and stand in solidarity with people in their darkest hour of need.”
UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said: “The rich world can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. The same is not true in the poorest countries. The COVID-19 crisis has plunged millions of people into poverty and sent humanitarian needs skyrocketing. Next year we will need $35 billion to stave off famine, fight poverty, and keep children vaccinated and in school.
“A clear choice confronts us. We can let 2021 be the year of the grand reversal – the unravelling of 40 years of progress – or we can work together to make sure we all find a way out of this pandemic.”
The GHO 2021 includes country-specific plans for Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Mozambique (new), Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, occupied Palestinian territories, Pakistan (new), Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen and Zimbabwe (new).
It also has the following regional inter-agency plans: DRC Regional Refugee Response Plan, South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan, Syria Regional Refugee Response Plan (Syria 3RP), Rohingya Joint Response Plan, Venezuela Regional Migrant and Refugee Plan, and the Regional Migrant Plan for the Horn of Africa and Yemen (new).
– globalbihari bureau
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