UNITED NATIONS -- A high-level U.N. conference on Wednesday raised less than $1 billion of the more than $5 billion organizers were hoping for to help over 30 million people in the Horn of Africa cope with a major climate crisis and mass displacement after years of conflict, a major disappointment to aid agencies.
The U.N. appealed for $7 billion this year to provide food and other humanitarian assistance for the three Horn of Africa countries -- Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, and had only received $1.6 billion. After pledges were tallied, the U.N. humanitarian office said the total funding for 2023 now stands at $2.4 billion.
That means only $800 million in new funding was announced Wednesday -- over 60% from the United States which made an additional donation of $524 million. That brought its total to more than $1.4 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged would-be donors at the start of the pledging conference to make an immediate and major injection of funding to prevent the crisis caused by the longest drought on record, massive displacement and skyrocketing food prices "from turning into catastrophe."
"People in the Horn of Africa are paying an unconscionable price for a climate crisis they did nothing to cause," he said. "Without an immediate and major injection of funding, emergency operations will grind to a halt, and people will die."
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who visited the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in September, said humanitarian needs in the Horn of Africa are now greater than ever, "with over 23.5 million persons facing acute food insecurity" which is why the U.S. has pledged additional funds.
"Right now, the global community is simply not meeting the moment," she told the conference, warning that "the threat of famine looms."
"In a world abundant with food, entire communities should never, never starve to death," Thomas-Greenfield stressed.
But the results of the pledging conference co-hosted by the U.S., UK, Italy and Qatar were anything but bold.
According to the U.N. humanitarian office, there were 25 countries that made announcements along with the European Commission, Islamic Relief and the U.N.'s emergency humanitarian fund. But it said some pledges included funds for 2024 and beyond.
Germany's U.N. Ambassador Antje Leendertse told the conference the $226 million in humanitarian aid for the three countries in 2023 and 2024 doesn't include substantial funding "for development and stabilization" in the Horn of Africa.
UK Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell said the country pledged $119 million for the three Horn of Africa countries. In addition, he said, the UK pledged $27 million for Sudan, $23 million for South Sudan and $9 million for Uganda, taking its total new funding up to $178 million.
Information for this article was contributed by Evelyne Musambi of The Associated Press.
FILE - Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, April 24, 2023, at United Nations headquarters. The United States has announced $524 million in additional humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa that aims to put a spotlight on the extreme effects of climate change and the worst drought in the region in 40 years. The aid announcement also seeks to highlight the need for more than $5 billion. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the announcement Wednesday at a U.N. pledging conference. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FILE - Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, arrives during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council as Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, serving as president of the council, speaks, April 24, 2023, at United Nations headquarters. The United States has announced $524 million in additional humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa that aims to put a spotlight on the extreme effects of climate change and the worst drought in the region in 40 years. The aid announcement also seeks to highlight the need for more than $5 billion. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the announcement Wednesday at a U.N. pledging conference. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FILE - A Somali woman breastfeeds her child at a camp for displaced people on the outskirts of Dollow, Somalia on Sept. 20, 2022. The United States has announced $524 million in additional humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa that aims to put a spotlight on the extreme effects of climate change and the worst drought in the region in 40 years. The aid announcement also seeks to highlight the need for more than $5 billion. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)
FILE - Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, holds a copy of the United Nations charter as she speaks during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, April 24, 2023, at United Nations headquarters. The United States has announced $524 million in additional humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa that aims to put a spotlight on the extreme effects of climate change and the worst drought in the region in 40 years. The aid announcement also seeks to highlight the need for more than $5 billion. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FILE - Young boys pull containers of water as they return to their huts from a well in the village of Ntabasi village amid a drought in Samburu East, Kenya, on Oct, 14, 2022. The United States has announced $524 million in additional humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa that aims to put a spotlight on the extreme effects of climate change and the worst drought in the region in 40 years. The aid announcement also seeks to highlight the need for more than $5 billion. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
FILE - Saito Ene Ruka, right, who said he has lost 100 cows due to drought, and his neighbour Kesoi Ole Tingoe, left, who said she lost 40 cows, walk past animal carcasses at Ilangeruani village, near Lake Magadi, in Kenya, on Nov. 9, 2022. The United States has announced $524 million in additional humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa that aims to put a spotlight on the extreme effects of climate change and the worst drought in the region in 40 years. The aid announcement also seeks to highlight the need for more than $5 billion. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
FILE - Nunay Mohamed, 25, who fled the drought-stricken Lower Shabelle area, holds her one-year old malnourished child at a makeshift camp for the displaced on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia on June 30, 2022. The United States has announced $524 million in additional humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa that aims to put a spotlight on the extreme effects of climate change and the worst drought in the region in 40 years. The aid announcement also seeks to highlight the need for more than $5 billion. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)