UN aid agencies appeal for funding, saying donations fall far short of needs

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The ongoing violence in Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen are devastating investments in agriculture and leaving millions at risk of dying due to hunger. Earlier this year, the United Nations issued an urgent appeal for 4.9 billion US dollars, but as of August only half the money had been received.

Getting food to 20 million people, spread across vast areas of land in four nations, would be challenging in peacetime. But it’s further complicated by the conflicts in these countries.

“The security situation on the ground is often so bad that we cannot reach these populations that need to receive that food,” said Ron Redmond, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

People waiting to be airlifted to the South Sudanese Northern State of Eastern Nile, in Juba, capital of South Sudan, January 7, 2017. /Xinhua Photo‍

With the US proposing to cut in half the money it gives to peacekeeping, these interventions may be harder to fund. As it is, UN donations are far from hitting targets.

Women with their malnourished children on May 31, 2017, wait outside a nutrition center run by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Panthau, Northern Bahr al Ghazal, South Sudan. /Xinhua Photo

According to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, this year Yemen and Somalia are less than 50% funded – a shortfall of more than 2 billion US dollars for these two countries alone.

“It’s extremely difficult because there are so many competing needs, humanitarian needs, around the world,” said Redmond. “On top of that, there’s a certain fatigue that has set in among some donors. The international community sometimes looks at these as if they are hopeless.”

A push for financial support from world leaders is essential at any UN General Assembly. The threat of four famines hanging over this year’s meeting will make those requests even more pressing.