UN releases $160 million for 12 countries facing humanitarian crises

The United Nations has released about $160 million from its emergency fund for 12 countries and territories facing severe humanitarian crises. The amount was announced on Friday from New York, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

At today's buying rate set by Nepal Rastra Bank, the amount equals about Rs 24.61 billion.

About $150 million of this will be sent from the Emergency Response Fund to all 12 locations. Recipients include Afghanistan, Yemen, Cuba and the occupied Palestinian territory. From Africa, eight countries are on the list: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.

Separately, about $10 million more has been set aside to meet the immediate needs of persons with disabilities in these crisis areas. OCHA said this separate amount will increase access to aid and inclusion for persons with disabilities.

The fund has been released under a campaign to reach about 87 million people who are most in need of assistance this year. UN humanitarian affairs chief Tom Fletcher said that along with financial support, political will is also essential to get aid to people in crisis.