Today's Edition
GENEVA (WAM)
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have warned that funding cuts are impacting humanitarian assistance in several countries, including Nigeria, Burundi, and Colombia.
In a statement, the UNHCR said that funding shortfalls are forcing aid workers to cut back on critical support, including health and nutrition services.
Some organisations had to lay off staff and scale back services — including for primary healthcare and the treatment of severe acute malnutrition.
Overall, funding cuts have impacted nearly 70 percent of health services and 50 percent of nutrition services in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
OCHA stressed that, with the lean season approaching, it is critical that the international community steps up funding to address escalating food insecurity.
Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said, “At the start of the year, we and our partners appealed for $910 million to reach 3.6 million people in Nigeria with critical aid and protection. However, given the brutal funding cuts, OCHA has been forced to reprioritise its response, focusing on the most life-saving interventions for the most vulnerable people.”
“To do this, we need $298 million. Yet to date, we’ve received only over $70 million — less than a quarter of what’s needed,” he added.
In Burundi, the UNHCR said that due to significant funding shortfalls, they and their partners are facing critical limitations in providing protection services.
UNHCR is no longer able to distribute dignity kits, leaving nearly 11,000 women and girls without access to basic hygiene items.
UNHCR said it urgently needs $76.5 million to respond to the current crisis there.
In Colombia, UNHCR said that refugees are also being affected by funding cuts. Essential services have been suspended, including the distribution of basic relief items such as mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps and mosquito nets, particularly in the Catatumbo region near the border with Venezuela.
UNHCR said it needs $118.3 million to continue its vital work this year.
