'World on fire': UN seeks $47 bln for aid in 2025

Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA) Under-Secretary-General Tom Fletcher holds the Global Humanitarian Overwiew 2025 report during a press conference in Geneva on Dec. 3, 2024

The U.N. appealed Wednesday for more than $47 billion to deliver vital aid next year, warning that surging conflicts and the climate crisis will leave hundreds of millions of people in need.

"The world is on fire," the United Nations' new humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told reporters in Geneva, acknowledging he was looking ahead to 2025 with "dread."

With brutal conflicts spiraling in places like Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine, and as climate change and extreme weather take an ever-heavier toll, the U.N. estimated that 305 million people globally will need some form of emergency assistance next year.

"We are dealing with a poly-crisis right now globally, and it is the most vulnerable people in the world who are paying the price," Fletcher said, warning that swelling inequality combined with the convergence of conflict and climate change had created a "perfect storm" of needs.

Launching the Global Humanitarian Overview, Fletcher acknowledged that the U.N. and its partners would not be able to reach all of those in need.

The annual appeal by U.N. agencies and other humanitarian organizations is seeking $47.4 billion for 2025—slightly less than the appeal for this year—which it said was enough to provide assistance to the 189.5 million most vulnerable people.

"There's 115 million that we won't be able to reach" with this plan, Fletcher acknowledged.

'Ruthless' 

Pointing to significant "donor fatigue" hitting humanitarian operations around the world, he stressed the need to lay out a "realistic"...