U.N. Asks for Record $22 Billion to Aid World's Needy

U.N. Asks for Record $22 Billion to Aid World's Needy¹

The United Nations, or U.N., is asking for $22.2 billion dollars to provide life-saving help for nearly 93 million people worldwide.

The U.N. made the request on Monday to international donors². The request says the donations would go to helping³ the most vulnerable people in 33 countries.

U.N. officials say the world is facing its biggest humanitarian⁴ crisis since World War II. They say more than 128 million people are in need of urgent support. The people are said to be victims of conflict, displacement⁵ and natural disasters.

Of this number, U.N. officials are requesting money to help the individuals most severely⁶ in need of life-saving assistance.

Stephen O’Brien is the U.N.’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. He says the donations will make a big difference in the lives of tens of millions of people.

O’Brien said the money will be used for life-saving food assistance to people close to starvation in areas including the Lake Chad Basin and South Sudan. The donations will also help people in other countries.

“It will provide protection for the most vulnerable people in Syria, in Iraq, and in Yemen. And, it will enable children, education for children whose schooling⁷ is disrupted by El Ni?o among many other responses.”

The crisis in Syria is the United Nations' biggest humanitarian concern. The U.N. plans to help nearly 13 million Syrians who are displaced within the country or living as refugees in neighboring countries.

O’Brien says humanitarian assistance is only a temporary solution. He told VOA that a political solution is the only thing that will end the suffering in Syria. He noted⁸ that the Syrian conflict is more than five years old.

“Humanitarians can do no more than fill the gaps of people who either need food or shelter or medicines or treatments or evacuation or who need access to water and sanitation⁹ and hygiene¹⁰ and other non-food items in order simply to survive.”

In addition to Syria, U.N. officials said that Yemen, South Sudan and Nigeria are among the countries with the greatest humanitarian needs. They have had large displacements¹¹ of people inside and outside their borders.

The United Nations noted that about 1.2 million people have fled South Sudan, making this the biggest refugee movement in Africa. Eighty percent of those who fled are women and children.

Words in This Story

vulnerable - adj. easily hurt or harmed physically¹², mentally, or emotionally

disrupt - v. to cause something to be unable to continue in the normal way

El Ni?o ?- n. a flow of unusually warm water along the western coast of South America that causes many changes in weather in other places

gap - n. a space between two people or things

evacuation - n. to remove someone from a dangerous place

sanitation - n. the process of keeping places free from dirt, infection, and disease by removing waste, trash and garbage

hygiene - n. the things that you do to keep yourself and your surroundings clean in order to maintain good health

1 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

2 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

10 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

11 displacements   

n.取代( displacement的名词复数 )；替代；移位；免职

参考例句：

• The laws of physics are symmetrical for translational displacements. 物理定律对平移是对称的。 来自辞典例句
• We encounter only displacements of the first type. 我们只遇到第一类的驱替。 来自辞典例句

12 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。