United Nations needs billions for Ukraine aid
Published: Tuesday, Jan 9th 2024, 13:40
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According to UN estimates, 40 percent of the population in Ukraine, or more than 14.6 million people, will be dependent on humanitarian aid this year due to the Russian war of aggression.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) needs 3.1 billion dollars (2.6 billion Swiss francs) for this and is asking for donations, an OCHA spokesperson said in Geneva on Tuesday. This is less than for 2023, when OCHA had budgeted 3.95 billion dollars for Ukraine. However, according to OCHA statistics, only around 64 percent of this sum has been collected so far.
Appeals for donations are reportedly being covered less and less. The spokesperson said that the United Nations had therefore shifted its global focus to people in the greatest need and cut programs. As a result, some appeals for donations this year are smaller than in previous years.
The United Nations needs one billion dollars this year to support Ukraine's neighboring countries that have taken in refugees. According to UN figures, 6.3 million Ukrainians have fled abroad since the start of the Russian war against the neighboring country in February 2022. A quarter of the people in the country have been displaced by the fighting and destruction. OCHA and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) want to present their planned projects in detail to donor countries in Geneva next Monday.
©Keystone/SDA
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