A UN donor conference to help fund aid operations for drought stricken Horn of Africa raised on Wednesday about $1 billion – far below the $7 billion the world body was seeking.
The UN humanitarian body said in a statement that “famine has been averted” thanks to the funds, but additional resources were urgently required to assist nearly 32 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia who are facing acute food insecurity and the most severe drought in four decades.
With the latest pledges and the $1.4 billion the UN had already received from the US, it brings the total to about $2.4 billion.
Speaking at the onset of the donor conference in New York, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said only 20 per cent of the UN's regional humanitarian response plan had been financed to date.
“This is unacceptable,” Mr Guterres stated, underscoring the need for immediate action to prevent the crisis that is threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions across the region.
The UN chief warned that without an immediate, “major injection” of funding, emergency operations will “grind to a halt” and people will die.
Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya have borne the brunt of the devastating drought, resulting in five consecutive failed rainy seasons.
David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, said man-made climate change has increased the likelihood of drought in the region by 100 times.
Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE's ambassador to the UN, told delegates the Horn of Africa's “complex” humanitarian situation requires “bold intervention”.
Ms Nusseibeh highlighted the UAE's “strong partnership” with the countries in the region, which involves direct and indirect humanitarian support, with the Emirates contributing $1.6 billion in aid to the region over the past five years.
This year alone, she said, the UAE has allocated $20 million to assist with humanitarian and stabilisation programmes in Somalia, and stressed that her country remains committed to a “multifaceted approach” to the region and the importance of long-term resilience-building initiatives within communities.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Washington’s top envoy to the UN, announced an additional humanitarian aid package of nearly $524 million for the Horn of Africa, bringing the total US contribution for fiscal year 2023 to $1.4 billion.
“In a world abundant with food, entire communities should never, never starve to death,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield said.
Correction: A previous version of this story said that the UN had raised $2.4 billion through the donor drive.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
UAE SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
