The UN agency for the protection of children has requested $635 million to assist women and children in 33 humanitarian crises around the world.
Approximately one-fifth of that amount, $121 million, is needed for Sudan, particularly the Darfur region where the conflict between government forces and rebels threatens the lives of 1.8 million children, UNICEF reported. The organization’s Vice President Pierette Vu Thi stated to reporters in Geneva that it is crucial for UNICEF to receive as much funding as possible.
Last year’s donations saved the lives of a large number of children, but they were nowhere near the requested $1.2 billion, Vu Thi said. The request for increased funding in 2007 is a result of the crisis in Lebanon and other hotspots such as Chad, Somalia, Colombia, Georgia, and Haiti, Vu Thi added. (h)
