UNHCR Report: Statement by Mathias Mogge
“We cannot rest in our search for sustainable solutions to the many wars and armed conflicts”, warns Mathias Mogge, Secretary General of WHH
Bonn/Berlin, 2024-06-13. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published the latest figures on refugees and forcibly displaced communities today. The numbers keep rising, and as of May 2024, 120 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide. Welthungerhilfe comments on the new refugee statistics below.
Statement by Mathias Mogge, Secretary General of Welthungerhilfe
“It is an alarming sign that the number of displaced people worldwide has been continually rising for twelve years. There are currently 120 million people who have lost their houses, their families, and their livelihoods because it became impossible to continue their lives where they were at home.
Though attracting nearly no notice, one of the greatest disasters currently taking place is occurring in and around Sudan, where some nine million people are fleeing from a brutal civil war and 20 million people are suffering from acute hunger. With every passing day, it is becoming more difficult to provide humanitarian aid there, and our local staff members have had to flee from combat repeatedly.
Violent conflicts are one of the main issues forcing even more people to leave their homes. The latest edition of a peace report published by four German peace research institutes, Friedensgutachten 2024, shows that there were more violent conflicts throughout the world last year than ever before. We cannot rest in our search for sustainable solutions to the many wars and armed conflicts. Peace plays the greatest role in reducing the number of forced displacements. The new UNHCR report also shows that most refugees flee to neighboring countries, which themselves are often among the most impoverished worldwide. Considering these circumstances, the arguments currently being made to reduce funding for humanitarian aid are divorced from reality and send the wrong message entirely. Survival aid for people in acute need must not be sacrificed to budget cuts.”
Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid organizations in Germany and has no political or religious affiliations. It is fighting for “Zero Hunger by 2030.” Since its inception, it has provided funding of EUR 4.75 billion for more than 11,498 overseas projects in 72 countries. Welthungerhilfe follows the principle of supporting people in realizing their rights and sustainably improving their living conditions, which it implements with measures ranging from rapid disaster relief to rehabilitation to long-term development cooperation projects with national and international partner organizations.
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