The number of people who will be in need of humanitarian relief in 2023 has increased by almost a quarter in the past year, as the climate crisis, the war in Ukraine and the largest global food crisis in modern history pushes millions to the brink, the UN has warned.
A record 339 million people, an increase of 65 million on last year, will be suffering next year as a result of 2022’s “extreme events” and will be in urgent need of assistance, said Martin Griffiths, the UN’s under secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.
The UN and partner agencies are asking donors for $51.5bn to fund the relief effort, another record figure and a 25% increase on the beginning of 2022. They say while most donors have remained relatively generous, the needs have ballooned.
