If we do not act now, projections indicate that the future could be even worse."Geneva (ANTARA News) - The number of people in need of humanitarian help continues to escalate and this year alone, over 100 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, a high-ranking UN official said here.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen OBrien said in the opening remarks to the three-day Global Consultation for the World Humanitarian Summit that if that were a country, it would be the 12th largest in the world.
According to the UN official, drought, storms and other extreme natural events are affecting millions, with estimated economic losses due to natural disasters worldwide may now be as high as 300 billion U.S. dollars a year.
"If we do not act now, projections indicate that the future could be even worse," the official warned, qouted by Xinhua.
Though these natural hazards are devastating, armed conflict is by far the greatest driver of prolonged humanitarian need in the world, he said, adding that the absence of political solutions is leading to more protracted crises and unprecedented levels of displacement.
According to him, more than 60 million people around the world have been forced to abandon their homes due to violence and persecution - more than at any time since the Second World War
The official cited the World Bank as estimating that 1.5 billion people live in countries trapped in repeated cycles of violent conflict, while the cost to the global economy is some 14. 3 trillion U.S. dollars per year, or 13 percent of the worlds GDP.
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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