The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
A record 166 million people worldwide will need help and protection in crises spanning more than 50 countries in 2020, the UN’s emergency relief chief said, in an appeal for nearly $29 billion in humanitarian aid from donors.
Climatic shocks, large infectious disease outbreaks and intensifying, protracted conflicts have resulted in global needs increasing by some 22 million people in the past year, Mark Lowcock told journalists in Geneva.
“In 2020, nearly 168 million people worldwide will need humanitarian assistance and protection,” he said. “That represents about one person in 45 on the planet. It is the highest figure in decades.”
Another disturbing trend is that armed conflicts “are killing and maiming a record number of children” Mr. Lowcock explained. “More than 12,000 in fact were killed or maimed in conflict in 2018 and 2019 has been worse.”
In addition, women and girls were at higher risk of sexual and gender-based violence than in the past, and one in five people living in conflict areas has a mental health condition, he said.
In a call to donors, the UN relief chief said that the UN and partner organisations including the Red Cross and other non-governmental organisations “will be aiming to assist 109 million of the most vulnerable people”.
More communities had been affected by conflict and yet more “were affected by climate change-related events than we had projected”, Mr. Lowcock insisted, in reference to more frequent drought, flooding and tropical cyclones that tend to disproportionately affect poor and vulnerable individuals.
“Thirteen of the 20 countries most vulnerable to climate change are places in which we have an inter-agency appeal,” he noted.
In terms of sheer scale, Yemen “is still going to be the world’s worst humanitarian crisis” in 2020 after nearly five years of war, the UN official maintained. “The number of people in need is expected to remain close to this year’s levels, that’s around 24 million people, 80 per cent of the population.”
Detailed in the Global Humanitarian Overview 2020, the appeal for Yemen is $3.2 billion.
Funding is also needed for a multitude of other protracted conflicts, including Afghanistan ($732 million for 9.4 million people), Burundi ($104 million for 1.7 million people), Iraq ($520 million for 4.1 million people), Syria ($3.3 billion for 11 million people) and the Central African Republic ($388 million for 2.6 million people), among others.
To illustrate a growing disregard by combatants for international humanitarian law, Mr. Lowcock highlighted nearly 800 attacks against healthworkers and healthcare facilities in the first nine months of 2019, which claimed 171 lives.
The unexpected scale of infectious disease outbreaks has also helped drive needs to unprecedented levels.
“In Africa, in the first three months of this year, there were 700 per cent more measles cases than in the same period last year,” Mr. Lowcock said, a likely reference to the more than 5,000 measles fatalities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January.
Turning to Venezuela, where the funding requirement is $1.35 billion for 3.8 million people in 2020, needs are “substantially outstripping resources”, the UN official said.
A “substantial increase in humanitarian assistance for Venezuelans” was needed for those inside their country” and an approximate doubling of assistance for those who’ve left the country, Mr. Lowcock insisted.
“On current trends, our projections show that more than 200 million people could be in need of assistance by 2022,” he added.
- Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
- Medium shot: Press room, journalists, TV crews.
- Close-up: back of journalist’s head, Global Humanitarian Overview 2020 report on table.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator: “In 2020, nearly 168 million people worldwide will need humanitarian assistance and protection. That represents about one person in 45 on the planet. It is the highest figure in decades.”
- Medium shot: photographer taking picture, profile.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator: “The UN and partner organisations – the Red Cross, NGOs and the other partners we work with - will be aiming to assist 109 million of the most vulnerable people through the 21 plans that we have summarized in the Global Humanitarian Overview. That’s going to require funding of $29 billion.”
- Close up: journalist holding pen in two hands above press release.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator: “More people were affected by conflict and more people were affected by climate change-related events than we had projected.”
- Medium shot: journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator: “Yemen is still going to be the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The number of people in need is expected to remain close to this year’s levels, that’s around 24 million people, 80 per cent of the population.”
- Medium shot: journalists typing on laptops.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator: “We are projecting a need for substantial increase in humanitarian assistance for Venezuelans inside their country, but also for Venezuelans who’ve left their country. It’s roughly a doubling of assistance for Venezuelans who’ve left the country including some who we think will continue to leave.”
- Medium shot: journalist’s hands typing on laptop in foreground, podium to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator: “Thirteen of the 20 countries most vulnerable to climate change are places in which we have an inter-agency appeal.”
- Medium shot: journalists reading documents.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator: “Armed conflicts are killing and maiming a record number of children. More than 12,000 in fact were killed or maimed in conflict in 2018 and 2019 has been worse.”
- Close up: laptops in profile, Global Humanitarian Overview 2020 being opened.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator: “Women and girls are at higher risk of sexual and gender-based violence than we’ve seen in the past; one in five people living in conflict areas have a mental health condition.”
- Medium shot: journalist in centre of shot looks at speaker (out of frame), another journalist rests her cheek on her hand.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator: “There were 791 attacks against healthworkers and healthcare facilities in the first nine months of 2019, resulting in 171 deaths.”
- Close up: journalist reads Global Humanitarian Overview 2020.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator: “In Africa, in the first three months of this year, there were 700 per cent more measles cases than in the same period last year.”
- Close up: journalists’ backs, one is reading Global Humanitarian Overview 2020.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator: “On current trends, our projections show that more than 200 million people could be in need of assistance by 2022.”
- Close up: hands typing on laptops.
- Wide shot: Press room with journalists and podium in rear of shot.
- Medium shot: journalists, photographer’s head, podium.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In war-torn Gaza, a growing number of women-headed households face “impossible decisions” every day, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and still-scarce resources, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar at the 63rd Human Rights Council.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today delivered an update on the global human rights situation to the 63rdsession of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated attacks on humanitarian warehouses put vital medical aid at risk in Ukraine - WHO
A new airstrike overnight damaged one of the main warehouses used by the UN health agency to store humanitarian medical supplies in the Kyiv region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. This is the third attack to affect a WHO-used storage in the last three months.
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UN WOMEN , WHO
Nepal flood deaths near 1,000 as those spared struggle to survive – UN humanitarians
With the death toll in Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods inching towards 1,000, rescue workers are facing harsh conditions while survivors lack access to food, safe water and health care, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNDRR , IFRC , WHO
Nepal: Flooding disaster “not over” as humanitarians work around the clock
While search and rescue efforts continued Friday following flash floods and mudslides in northern Nepal, UN humanitarians are taking stock of the devastation amid concerns over more flooding to come.