UN appeal for $7.1b in emergency aid
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
From Fazle Rashid
NEW YORK, Dec 01: The United Nations (UN), facing a resource crunch, has sent in urgent appeals to affluent member states to provide the world body with $7.1 billion in emergency aid to finance a humanitarian assistance for over 48 million people in 25 countries. Our aim is to help people out of vulnerability towards dignity, safety and self-sufficiency to which every human has a right, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was quoted as saying.
The list of multilateral agencies feeling the pinch of severe resource crunch is growing with ominous frequency. The appeals for fresh infusion of cash have been made by the UN itself, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and the ILO. Generous promises have been made by the member countries but the dollar is yet to reach the vaults of the resource constrained bodies.
Three global demands that require immediate attention are halting the growth of poverty stricken and hungry people worldwide the number of which will rise by a staggering 1.0 billion people this year and money needed to conquer the problem is $6.0 billion, the pernicious impact of the global warming which has already started to be visible and to offset it would require $100 billion a year until 2050 and long term agriculture investment to build up a food security to which goal money has been promised but disbursements remain unvisible.
There are not many countries which can come out with the kind cash that would required to meet global demands. The only country which can provide substantial cash is China and Saudi Arabia. China has demanded reforms of all multilateral bodies most important of which is the greater say for countries whose views were ignored.
Prime Minister of China Wen Jiabao lambasted demand for upward revision of renminbi. The prime minister did not conceal his anger in stating that some countries on the one hand want renminbi to appreciate but on the other hand engage in brazen trade protectionism against China. The Chinese premier made this observations at the end of a meeting between China and EU in Nanjing.
NEW YORK, Dec 01: The United Nations (UN), facing a resource crunch, has sent in urgent appeals to affluent member states to provide the world body with $7.1 billion in emergency aid to finance a humanitarian assistance for over 48 million people in 25 countries. Our aim is to help people out of vulnerability towards dignity, safety and self-sufficiency to which every human has a right, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was quoted as saying.
The list of multilateral agencies feeling the pinch of severe resource crunch is growing with ominous frequency. The appeals for fresh infusion of cash have been made by the UN itself, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and the ILO. Generous promises have been made by the member countries but the dollar is yet to reach the vaults of the resource constrained bodies.
Three global demands that require immediate attention are halting the growth of poverty stricken and hungry people worldwide the number of which will rise by a staggering 1.0 billion people this year and money needed to conquer the problem is $6.0 billion, the pernicious impact of the global warming which has already started to be visible and to offset it would require $100 billion a year until 2050 and long term agriculture investment to build up a food security to which goal money has been promised but disbursements remain unvisible.
There are not many countries which can come out with the kind cash that would required to meet global demands. The only country which can provide substantial cash is China and Saudi Arabia. China has demanded reforms of all multilateral bodies most important of which is the greater say for countries whose views were ignored.
Prime Minister of China Wen Jiabao lambasted demand for upward revision of renminbi. The prime minister did not conceal his anger in stating that some countries on the one hand want renminbi to appreciate but on the other hand engage in brazen trade protectionism against China. The Chinese premier made this observations at the end of a meeting between China and EU in Nanjing.