\u201cWe are seeing the consequences spread faster than we can respond,\u201d said Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, speaking to reporters in Geneva on Wednesday. \u201cThis is a moment of grave peril, and without additional support, millions of people will die.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fletcher said the UN\u2019s $23 billion global humanitarian appeal for 2026, launched in December to assist 87 million of the world\u2019s most vulnerable people, remains two\u2011thirds underfunded. More than $14 billion is still urgently needed. He stressed that the 87 million prioritised in the plan represent only those in greatest need, with the true number requiring assistance far higher.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cEven just $1 billion would allow us to save millions of lives,\u201d he said, noting the contrast with the daily cost of the Middle East war. Fletcher also raised alarm over the closure, on March 2, of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route carrying around 20% of global oil. The shutdown has already driven up food, energy and fertiliser prices worldwide, with severe consequences for economies and households.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI am worried that further escalation will damage other supply routes,\u201d he said. \u201cAll of this has a direct impact on humanitarian supplies, including in key areas of need in sub\u2011Saharan Africa.\u201d He identified Gaza and Sudan as the crises most in need of immediate financial support.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fletcher called for stronger protections for civilians and humanitarian workers, following recent deaths of aid personnel in Sudan, Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He warned that aid workers are facing unprecedented levels of violence. \u201cHuman ingenuity is being applied to find ever more sinister ways to kill at scale,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Last year, 90%of those killed in drone attacks were civilians, many of them humanitarian workers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a tough moment for humanitarian action,\u201d Fletcher said. \u201cWe are overstretched, under attack and under\u2011resourced, but we refuse to retreat from our principles, and we refuse to retreat from our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":28557,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-28556","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The United Nation's (UN) Emergency Relief Chief has condemned the staggering financial toll of the escalating Middle East conflict, warning that the war is costing an estimated one billion dollars a day while global humanitarian needs continue to soar and funding falls perilously short.\r\n","published_date":"","news_description":"The United Nation's (UN) Emergency Relief Chief has condemned the staggering financial toll of the escalating Middle East conflict, warning that the war is costing an estimated one billion dollars a day while global humanitarian needs continue to soar and funding falls perilously short.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28558,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28556\/revisions\/28558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=28556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}