Record shortfall in funding for United Nations humanitarian work

The United Nations announced Friday that funding for its humanitarian missions is facing a record shortfall, warning of the growing risks facing humanitarian workers.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the UN calls to raise funds for its humanitarian programs worldwide amounted to 48.7 billion dollars, but only 15 billion dollars have been collected from them so far.

"Global needs have never been this high, with a record number of people in crisis in the world reaching 303 million," OCHA spokesman Jens Larkey told reporters in Geneva.

He stressed that the deficit of more than 33 billion dollars is "the largest deficit we have ever recorded, but the amount (15 billion dollars) is also the largest amount ever paid by donors."

"The problem, then, is this: the needs in the world are growing much faster than donor funding," he explained.

The UN appeals include addressing issues such as drought in the Horn of Africa and the repercussions of wars in Ukraine, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria.

"There is a benefit to the whole world in addressing these problems, because many of them will worsen in the future if they are not addressed now," Larkey added.

The United Nations at its headquarters in Geneva is organizing a ceremony on August 19 to mark the World Humanitarian Day.

"Humanitarians have never been asked to respond to such a level of need, and they do so in increasingly dangerous situations," Larkey said.

According to data from Humanitarian Outcomes, more than 148 humanitarian workers were killed on the job last year, the highest number since 2013.

Since the beginning of this year, 168 humanitarian workers have been attacked, killing 44 of them, according to the British organization.

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