The United Nations urged governments on Tuesday to donate $3 billion over the coming year to help ease humanitarian crises that touch 45 million people yet never make it to the world’s front pages. The annual appeal, launched every November, is intended to lessen the impact of emergencies including wars and natural disasters in countries poorly equipped to deal with them. “As we have seen time and time again, people respond generously when they see on their television screens a hungry child, a dying mother, a desperate father. But let us not forget that many of the world’s most serious crises happen far from the cameras,” U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said. “Even when a crisis or conflict is over, countries continue to need support during the critical transition period leading to peace and development,” Annan told potential donors gathered at U.N. headquarters. U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said 17 of the 21 crises included in the appeal for 2004 are in Africa, “which shows we really hope that the donors do not now forget Africa in these days of crisis in the Middle East and Iraq.” Full Story
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