The United Nations Monday appealed for more than $7.1 billion over the coming year to assist 48 million people across 25 countries whose lives have been wrecked by conflict and natural disasters, with the largest amount – over $1 billion – sought for Sudan.

“Our aim is to help people survive the coming year, and start working their way out of vulnerability towards the dignity, safety and self-sufficiency to which every human being has a right,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in the foreword to the 2010 Consolidated Humanitarian Appeal.

Launched today in Geneva by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, the appeal covers 12 of the world’s most severe, prolonged crises: Afghanistan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, the occupied Palestinian territory, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, West Africa, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

The 2010 appeal is the biggest launched since the creation of the Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) in 1991. Last year the appeal sought $7 billion, which was then a record.

John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, asked governments to maintain their donations despite economic pressures in the wake of the financial crisis.

The amount did not include the requirements for Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal which were still under discussion, the Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Holmes, said. 

"Humanitarian aid should be insulated from these budget pressures because if not, the people desperately affected by the severest natural disasters and conflicts will pay the price for a recession not of their making," he told a media briefing.

The agency issued an appeal for 7.1 billion dollars (4.7 billion euro) for next year covered 48 million people in 25 countries, with the largest amount required for war-ravaged Sudan at 1.8 billion dollars.

Next on the list is Afghanistan at (871 million dollars) followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (828 million), Somalia (689 million) and the West Bank and and Gaza (664 million).

The needs for the four outstanding countries were not included in the appeal "because discussions are still continuing with humanitarian organisations and with the governments of these countries," Holmes said, without giving details.

"I don't like to put a figure on these countries but it could be more than one billion dollars," he said.

This would push the appeal beyond the 7.85 billion dollars asked for in 2009 and establish a new record.

"Despite the financial crisis, 2009 has not been a bad year in terms of humanitarian financial support. But budget will be more under pressure in 2010," Holmes said.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokeswoman, Elisabeth Byrs, said the higher demand was not unexpected.

"It is not a surprise since humanitarian needs are growing," Byrs told AFP.

An example was Yemen where UN requirements had increased several times because of a spike of violence in the north of the country in recent months.

The appeal, created by 388 organizations, comprised the humanitarian needs of 12 countries, most notably Sudan, for which OCHA requested close to 2 billion dollars. Iraq, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and Nepal were not included, though Holmes speculates their needs could reach at least 1 billion dollars once their consolidation process is complete.

In 2009, OCHA appealed for a total of 9.7 billion dollars and received 6.3 billion dollars, less than two thirds of the total request.

OCHA, headquartered in New York, was founded in 1991 with 30 regional and field offices worldwide.

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