UN seeks $63b in aid as donor appetite shrinks

The UN on Dec 4 sought US$47 billion (S$63.2 billion) in aid for 2025 to help around 190 million people fleeing conflict and battling starvation, at a time when the 2024 appeal is not even half-funded and officials fear cuts from Western states including the top donor, the US.

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Facing what the new UN aid chief Tom Fletcher describes as "an unprecedented level of suffering", the UN hopes to reach people in 32 countries in 2025, including those in war-torn Sudan, Syria, Gaza and Ukraine.

"The world is on fire, and this is how we put it out," Mr Fletcher told reporters in Geneva.

"We need to reset our relationship with those in greatest need on the planet," said Mr Fletcher, a former British diplomat who started as head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) in November.

The appeal is the fourth-largest in Ocha's history, but Mr Fletcher said it leaves out some 115 million people whose needs the agency cannot realistically hope to fund.

"We have got to be absolutely focused on reaching those in the most dire need, and really ruthless."