GENEVA, April 16 (Reuters) – Over 4 million people are set to be newly displaced around the world by the end of next year as donors step back from providing life-saving aid, the Danish Refugee Council said on Thursday.
There are already some 117 million people forcibly displaced worldwide as the number of conflicts has surged to around 130 – double the number reported earlier this century, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“For families fleeing war with nothing but the clothes on their backs, there is little hope: the international safety net that once existed has gaping holes as humanitarian assistance shrinks,” said Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the DRC.
Sudan – where a war entered its fourth year this week and 13.5 million people are already displaced – will see the largest jump with an additional 670,000 people fleeing this year and next, the DRC said. U.N. agencies are warning that they may have to cut off vital supplies of water and food to them in neighbouring Chad because of a lack of funding.
The DRC’s findings, supported by IBM, were based on key indicators on security, environment and other factors across 27 countries.
(Reporting by Emma FargeEditing by Ludwig Burger)
Comments