UN allocates $125 mn in relief for 14 countries, 78th session UN General Assembly opens

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, authorised the allocation of $125 million for operations in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East

UNITED NATIONS — UN humanitarians have said they allocated $125 million for underfunded relief operations in 14 countries worldwide.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, who is also the UN’s relief chief, authorised the allocation from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for operations in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday.

This year’s global humanitarian funding requirements have shot past $55 billion and is less than 30 per cent funded, according to OCHA.

“It is a cruel reality that in many humanitarian operations, aid agencies are scraping along with very little funding right at a time when people’s needs compel them to scale up,” Griffiths said.

“Thanks to the generosity of a vast range of donors, we can count on CERF to fill some of the gaps. Lives are saved as a result. But we need individual donors to step up as well — this is a fund by all and for all.”

OCHA added the funding supports 250 million people affected by conflict, the climate impact, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, displacement and other crises, Xinhua news agency reported.

“With this additional funding, CERF has allocated a record $270 million so far this year through its Underfunded Emergencies window,” OCHA said.

“This is the largest annual amount ever allocated, to the highest number of countries, a reflection of skyrocketing humanitarian needs.”

The CERF allocation, OCHA said, will help scale up humanitarian assistance in some of the world’s most protracted and neglected crises: Afghanistan and Yemen ($20 million each), Burkina Faso and Myanmar ($9 million each), Haiti and Mali ($8 million each) and will also support refugee operations in Bangladesh ($8 million) and Uganda ($6 million).

OCHA said funds also will go to Venezuela ($8 million), the Central African Republic and Mozambique ($6.5 million each), Cameroon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories ($6 million each), and Malawi ($4 million).

78th session of UN General Assembly opens

The 78th session of the UN General Assembly was declared open on by new General Assembly President Dennis Francis.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his opening remarks read on his behalf by his deputy, Amina Mohammed, warned of a world of deep challenge and division that is testing the United Nations, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Despite profound global challenges, this is not a moment for pessimism. This is a moment for action,” he said on Tuesday.

“Action for peace and human rights; action to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals and tackle the existential threat of climate change; action to create productive jobs and expand economic opportunity, especially for women and young people; action to ensure that rapid evolutions in technology like artificial intelligence are a help, and not a harm, to humanity; action to build a world of hope and promise for all that leaves no-one behind.”

“More than any room on earth, the General Assembly represents our common humanity and our shared commitment for peace, sustainable development and human rights. Let’s forge the solutions that all people expect and make progress toward a better, and a more peaceful and prosperous future, and a healthier planet,” said Guterres.

In his opening remarks, Francis said the new session of the General Assembly began “amid a daunting global agenda, beset by a series of cascading challenges”.

He called on member states to push for and nurture peace by empowering those most vulnerable; to deliver shared prosperity by unlocking the resources required for transformational results; to accelerate progress by capitalising on the enablers of youth, innovation and technology; and to drive sustainability.

“This session, I will commit to engaging regional and other groups to collectively collaborate to bring to life a renewed atmosphere of global cooperation and shared commitments. My ambition is for the General Assembly to address the array of challenges it faces in the most effective and inclusive way possible,” Francis added.

He called on member states to adopt a true spirit of multilateralism for problem-solving “so that we can better protect, if not guarantee, the security and dignity of humankind”.

Francis, a diplomat from Trinidad and Tobago, was sworn in at the closing of the 77th session of the General Assembly on Tuesday morning.

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