339 million people need $51.5 billion in 2023: UN

The United Nations and partners on Thursday called for a record $51.5 billion in aid money for 2023, with tens of millions more people expected to need humanitarian assistance, including those in Ukraine and displaced by the Russian invasion.

The UN appealed for a record amount of aid for the next year as the war in Ukraine and other conflicts, climate crises and the still-simmering pandemic push more people into crisis, some towards famine.

The United Nations’ annual Global Humanitarian Overview estimated that around 339 million people worldwide will need some form of emergency assistance in the next year – a staggering 65 million more people than the estimate a year ago.

According to the annual appeal by the UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations, providing aid to the 230 million most vulnerable people in 68 countries would require a record $51.5 billion.

Climate events, food insecurity, forced displacement and conflict have taken a heavy toll on a range of countries, not least Ukraine, where Russia’s full-scale invasion in February left millions in dire need.

“Next year will be the largest humanitarian programme the world has ever seen,” UN aid chief Martin Griffiths told reporters in Geneva.