Mobilize 10.3 billion US dollars (approximately 6401 450 000 000 F Cfa) in order to provide humanitarian aid to more than 173 million people, including 110 million children, affected by humanitarian crises, the lingering effects of the pandemic of Covid-19 and the growing threat posed by high-intensity weather phenomena caused by climate change! This is the challenge launched to the world last Monday (December 5, 2022) by Unicef.
“ Never have so many children needed humanitarian aid as today… All over the world, children are facing a formidable combination of crises taking forms as diverse as conflicts, population displacements , epidemics and soaring malnutrition rates. At the same time, climate change is aggravating these crises and generating others. It is essential that we receive the support necessary to ensure that children benefit from crucial and timely humanitarian interventions ,” said Catherine Russell, Director General of Unicef, to justify this initiative and emphasize the urgency. to raise these funds.
At the start of the year, the UNICEF statement said, the number of people in need of humanitarian aid and protection was estimated at 274 million. Over the months, these needs have increased considerably, mainly due to conflicts (including the war in Ukraine), growing food insecurity, the risk of famine caused by climate change and other factors, as well as floods. devastating events that have hit Pakistan. Around the world, the resurgence of epidemics, particularly of cholera and measles, increases the risks for children in emergency situations.
Just as the prolonged effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic upheaval and instability, particularly inflation and the rising cost of food and fuel, have had dire consequences on the lives and well-being of millions of the world’s most vulnerable children. In addition, continued the UN body, climate change aggravates the scale and intensity of emergencies. The past ten years have been the hottest on record and the number of weather disasters has tripled in the past 30 years. Currently, more than 400 million children live in areas where water vulnerability is high or extremely high.
Moreover, never before have so many children crossed borders, with or without their families, and sometimes unaccompanied. The successive crises have led to the total displacement of nearly 37 million of them all over the world, a record since the Second World War.
As part of its humanitarian action for children, at the origin of the organization’s appeal for funds for the year 2023, UNICEF plans to treat 8.2 million children against severe acute malnutrition; vaccinate 28 million children against measles; providing 63.7 million people with access to safe water for drinking and meeting household needs; provide 23.5 million children, adolescents and caregivers with mental health and psychosocial support; enable 16.2 million children and women to benefit from interventions to mitigate and prevent the risk of gender-based violence, and/or to fight against it; providing 32 million people with safe and accessible channels to report cases of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by humanitarian personnel; and provide 25.7 million children with formal or non-formal education, including early learning…
Faced with unprecedented humanitarian needs, the UN organization calls on its partners to ” increase their support for humanitarian interventions essential to the survival of children ” by optimizing the flexibility of funding, to give priority to the implementation of climate-responsive anticipation and preparedness, to immediately adopt ‘ no regrets ‘ approaches to preparedness and response, and to ensure principled and equitable humanitarian assistance. The funds will fund essential programs throughout 2023 for more than 110 million children in 155 countries and territories.
sources: Www.maliweb.net
