- 2023 APPEAL FOR CHILDREN 'ROUGHLY 50% FUNDED'
Although "every dollar counts," Chaiban said, UNICEF's 2023 appeal for children was "roughly 50% funded, leading to a reduction in 2024's appeal by 16%."
"Every one of those dollars made a difference," he said. "And we're going to do everything possible to raise the resources so that we can respond to children."
In 2023, UNICEF appealed for $10.3 billion in emergency funding to reach more than 110 million children-including 54 million girls and 10 million children with disabilities-with humanitarian assistance across 155 countries and territories.
The appeal was focused on major crises including in Haiti, the Sahel, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Horn of Africa, Pakistan, Ukraine, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Myanmar.
With the decreased appeal, Chaiban said UNICEF aims to be "more efficient" in the way it works with some of its sister agencies like the World Food Programme (WFP) next year.
"We focus together on the treatment of severe acute malnutrition and we've come up with a simplified protocol which focuses only on those that are most at risk," he said, adding they will target their supplies to those that are most in need.
"So through those kinds of steps, we hope to be able to reach those that are most at risk," he said but argued that "you cannot do more with less."
"We continue to appeal to the world's donors and not to turn their attention away from children."
"We're in a world where the generosity of governments, individuals or foundations makes a difference," he said. "It gives hope in the midst of tragic events. So let's keep giving hope."
- GETTING INTO 2024 WITH 'VERY DIFFICULT SITUATIONS'
Stressing that another distressing year is approaching as not the only world is entering the year but also many ongoing conflicts, Chaiban expressed hope in the work that UNICEF does.
"I think it's very clear that we're going into 2024 with very difficult situations in Gaza, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sahel," he said.
"We need to make sure we don't forget crises like the displacement that came out of Syria, the Rohingya in Bangladesh and the situation in Haiti, where we've got gang violence that has been an upheaval in society."
"But I also want to speak about situations of hope," he said, drawing attention to Somalia, where a famine was averted in 2022 because of the concerted work of humanitarian agencies.
Then there is "the situation in the Horn of Africa, where over the years, systems have been set up. You know, the health system has been decentralized, (and) the food safety net put in place in places like Ethiopia, so that when the shock does happen, the population can withstand that shock," he added.
He noted that UNICEF's work has a positive impact in the targeted countries.
"We also have hope in the work that we do and know that it makes a difference -- not just with lifesaving activities, but for example, with the work that we do in education."
