UNICEF Appeals for $576 Mln for Sudan, Other Crises

GENEVA, Jan 27, 2005 (Reuters) — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday appealed for $576.1 million to help millions of children in countries in crisis, ranging from Sudan to Ethiopia and Angola.
Saying Asia’s tsunami had shown how the world could respond to disasters, the agency called for donors to show the same degree of generosity in other emergencies.

“Every day, children are being killed, maimed and recruited to fight in wars,” said UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy.

The request, which is in addition to the $186.85 million that UNICEF sought as part of the umbrella U.N. humanitarian appeal for 2005, includes $288.9 million for Sudan.

The money will cover relief work in the south of Africa’s largest country, where rebels and the government recently signed a peace deal, and in the western Darfur region, which the U.N. says is one of the world’s biggest humanitarian challenges.

It also sought $81.45 million for its work in Afghanistan and $30.3 million for Liberia.

In 2004, UNICEF appealed for $516 million, but raised just $297 million.