UN and partners launch $16.4 billion humanitarian appeal to bring aid to 57 million people in 2015 [EN/FR]

(Geneva, 8 December 2014): Humanitarian organizations aim to help at least 57.5 million of the most vulnerable people in the world with assistance in 2015 and require US$16.4 billion to do so. “Over 80 percent of those we intend to help are in countries mired in conflict where brutality and violence have had a devastating impact on their lives,” said Valerie Amos, UN Under-Secretary- General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, as she launched the 2015 global humanitarian appeal. “We will continue to put people at the centre of our relief efforts and do everything we can to respond quickly and effectively,” she said, “but the rising scale of need is outpacing our capacity to respond”.

In 2014, there was a sharp rise in the number of people affected by conflict and millions were forced to flee and became dependent on humanitarian aid for their survival. The crises in Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan and Syria will remain top humanitarian priorities next year. Combined with the impact in their regions, these crises account for over 70 percent of the funding requirements launched today.
For Syria, South Sudan and the Central African Republic the associated regional impact is included in regional response plans.

The other major crises covered by the appeal are Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, occupied Palestinian territory, Somalia, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen. "This is not business as usual in the humanitarian world," said António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "Today's needs are at unprecedented levels, and without more support there simply is no way to respond to the humanitarian situations we're seeing in region after region and in conflict after conflict."

In February next year the strategic response plans covering requirements in West Africa’s Sahel region and Djibouti will be launched. This will increase the number of people to be reached and the financial requirements for 2015.

International donors provided $9.4 billion in funding in 2014 but that was only half of what the aid community requested and there were large differences in the levels of funding provided for specific countries. "Every year we ask our donors to do more - and they do. But as crises become more complex and go on longer, the gap between needs and resources grows. I hope we can close it in 2015 because if we don't raise the money it means that we are able to help fewer children, women and men with medicine, food and shelter; the basics they need to survive,” said Ms. Amos.

Global Humanitarian Overview 2015 documentation is available on www.unocha.org/2015appeal and www.humanitarianresponse.info/appeals

Note to the editor The humanitarian appeal 2015 is based on strategic response plans and strategies in 12 major crises: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Myanmar, occupied Palestinian territory, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. Syria, South Sudan and the Central African Republic are all crises that affect entire regions and their neighbouring countries are included in regional response plans raising the number of countries covered by the plans to 22.