Ukraine Humanitarian Work Well-Supported, Africa & Other Regions Lack Funding, ICRC Chief Says

RIYADH (Sputnik) – Ukraine's humanitarian activities are well-supported while underfunded in other countries, starting with Africa, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Director-General Robert Mardini told Sputnik.

"Today, ironically, the humanitarian work in Ukraine is well supported by donors but the downside is that the rest of the world is underfunded, and that's a reality for ICRC," Mardini said on the sidelines of the 3rd Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum. "I would argue that there is today lack of funding for the vast majority of humanitarian settings, starting with Africa," he noted.

Places like Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Latin America, he added, are today among the underfunded states. Mardini said he hopes this will change as they shine a spotlight on these forgotten tragedies.

"So this is part of all our humanitarian diplomacy - to ensure that no one is left behind," he said.

Most donors of humanitarian organizations are also feeling the squeeze domestically because of the state of the economy, that is most of the time shrinking, Mardini said.

"They are under pressure also to deliver critical services for their own population. So it's challenging," he added.

This is why they need to diversify the sources of support and funding and why it is so important to have a critical player such as the King Salman Center for Humanitarian Relief involved in the humanitarian sector, Mardini said.

In addition, he said development actors should focus on difficult places where conflict has been going on for decades, and where they can be part of the solution without necessarily giving money to humanitarian actors.

The groups could be implementing initiatives - like water projects and infrastructure projects - in areas where governments may not have a grasp of the situation, Mardini added.

Mardini said the ICRC "absolutely" sees the need to increase support throughout Africa, where a quarter of the continent's 350 million people are facing severe food insecurity, 50 million of which are at risk of acute food insecurity.

"So, it's really devastating," he noted.

Countries in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, and in the Lake Child region have been grappling with armed conflict on top of the impact of climate change for years, including repeated cycles of droughts and floods that are exacerbating some of the tensions and driving displacement, Mardini said.

On top of this, he added, are the socioeconomic consequences resulting from the pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict – such as soaring fuel, food, and fertilizer prices, along with record inflation.

He ponted that food prices in South Sudan increased by 380% at the end of last year, while many other countries saw it rise between 50% and 200%.

"Their livelihoods are more threatened, their most valuable assets," he added.

Herders see livestock die because they cannot travel longer distances to get access to grazing land and water resources because of the conflict. They sometimes even compete over shrinking water resources in places like Mali, Mardini said.

"And this puts fuel on existing tension and conflicts, which increases the humanitarian cost of those protracted situations," Mardini said.