GENEVA

The UN on Monday launched a $46 billion appeal for 2024 due to the dire humanitarian outlook around the world.

Communities around the world are devastated by conflict, climate emergencies and collapsing economies as some 181 million people in 72 countries are expected to need humanitarian assistance and protection next year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.

Some 128 million people received life-saving assistance in 2023, OCHA said, adding that "a growing funding gap meant that support was cut back and millions of people were not reached."

According to the statement, while one out of every five children lives in or has fled from conflict zones in 2023, there are about 258 million people who are facing acute hunger.

Also, the number of displaced people worldwide has doubled in 10 years, with one in 73 people currently being affected. Separately, disease outbreaks are resulting in preventable deaths across the globe, it added.

"Humanitarians are saving lives, fighting hunger, protecting children, pushing back epidemics, and providing shelter and sanitation in many of the world's most inhumane contexts," said Martin Griffiths, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

He added: "But the necessary support from the international community is not keeping pace with the needs."

Griffiths thanked the donors of 2023 for the $20 billion gathered, but stressed that it is "just a third of what was needed."

"If we cannot provide more help in 2024, people will pay for it with their lives," he warned.

In 2023, funding shortfalls resulted in humanitarian organizations serving less than two-thirds of their intended population, the statement said.