UN says 51.5 bln USD aid campaign hopes to help 222 mln hungry people

Palestinian children wait to receive charity meals at al-Zaitoun neighborhood in the east of Gaza City, on Feb. 8, 2021. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

"At least 222 million people in 53 countries will face acute food insecurity by the end of 2022," OCHA said, adding that 45 million people in 37 countries risk starvation.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarians on Thursday said 222 million hungry people top the target list the 51.5 billion U.S. dollar aid campaign for 2023 aims to help.

The 2023 Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO), launched by the United Nations in partnership with nongovernmental organizations and other partners, paints a stark picture of what lies ahead, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

"At least 222 million people in 53 countries will face acute food insecurity by the end of 2022," the office said, adding that 45 million people in 37 countries risk starvation.

The humanitarians also pointed out that the goal of 51.5 billion U.S. dollars is not just for the hungry.

Public health is under pressure due to COVID-19, vector-borne diseases, monkeypox and outbreaks of Ebola and cholera, OCHA said.

The World Health Organization earlier this week renamed monkeypox "mpox."

The UN humanitarians said OCHA and their partners also face the challenge of climate change which is driving up risks and vulnerability. By the end of the century, extreme heat could claim as many lives as cancer.

Another challenge is ending discrimination against women and girls.

"It will take four generations - 132 years - to achieve global gender parity," the GHO said. "Globally, 388 million women and girls live in extreme poverty."

The response plans in the GHO detail how aid agencies working together around specific types of aid - including shelter, food, maternal health, child nutrition and protection - can save and support the lives of a combined 230 million people worldwide, OCHA said.