Refugees and returnees fleeing conflict in Sudan board trucks at the Joda border point near Renk, South Sudan. © UNHCR/Andrew McConnell
GENEVA – Last year, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, responded to a sharply higher number of new or deepening humanitarian crises – the highest annual number of declared emergencies in the last 10 years.
According to the Emergency Preparedness and Response in 2023 report published today, UNHCR issued 43 emergency declarations to scale up support in 29 countries and dispatched 7.4 million relief items to serve up to 16.7 million people around the world. From its seven global stockpiles, UNHCR delivered emergency supplies worth $53.5 million.
“Over the past year, we have seen a staggering increase in emergencies, with new crises unfolding and unresolved ones deteriorating, pushing the boundaries of our capacity to respond,” said Dominique Hyde, UNHCR Director of External Relations. “Whether sparked by conflict, human rights violations, natural disasters or extreme weather events, these emergencies have resulted in a surge of displacement, leaving countless individuals and families in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and protection. The scale of human suffering is unmeasurable and a stark reminder of the imperative for collective action and solidarity.”
During 2023, UNHCR responded to multiple crises globally, aiding millions affected by earthquakes in Syria, Türkiye and Afghanistan; a new conflict in Sudan and flare-ups of old conflicts in Karabakh and Somalia; a deteriorating crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, unprecedented mixed movements of refugees and migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean, and floods in Libya and the Horn of Africa.
With the upward trajectory of emergencies in 2023 poised to persist in 2024 and the number of forcibly displaced people expected to rise to 130 million by the end of the year, the need for solidarity and support for people forced to flee has never been as important as it is today.
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