UNHCR needs $400mln by end of December

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday that it needs $400 million by the end of December.

The agency said it is facing dire funding shortages to address a multitude of global crises.

During the opening of the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi called on donors to further increase their support.

“Many humanitarian organisations are facing severe funding challenges,” he said.

“UNHCR alone is lacking $400 million to end the year with the minimum of needed resources,” he explained.

From Russia’s war in Ukraine, to the civil war in Sudan, a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and finally the attacks on Gaza, the number of displaced people passed 114 million.

In an all-time high, Grandi said that amounts to “114 million shattered dreams, disrupted lives, interrupted hopes. It is a figure that reflects a crisis – many crises – of humanity.”

According to UNHCR this is a number that has doubled in the past seven years and is still set to rise.

“A major human catastrophe is unfolding in the Gaza Strip,” Grandi warned, referring to the Security Council’s failure in stopping the attacks.

He also said that along with Gaza, there are millions displaced by from Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar, Syria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and across the Sahel.