The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Ukraine: $1.7 billion appeal launched to help refugee exodus and host countries
The United Nations and humanitarian partners on Tuesday launched a $1.7 billion flash appeal to urgently help people displaced by the Russian military offensive inside Ukraine and beyond its borders.
The escalating conflict has triggered an immediate and steep rise in humanitarian needs as essential supplies and services have been disrupted, while civilians flee the fighting.
Speaking in Geneva, UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths explained that the appeal has two components: “a three-month flash appeal for the situation inside the country, and a regional response plan for the situation beyond Ukraine's borders. The flash appeal for response inside Ukraine, which I'm responsible for coordinating, will need $1.1 billion in funding for three months to help six million of the most vulnerable in Ukraine for that three months.”
Also briefing journalists, High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi appealed for “$550 million for the refugee agency and 12 partner agencies”. Noting that 520,000 people were estimated to have been displaced by the Ukraine crisis just last night, Mr. Grandi said that this had already risen sharply, in the space of just a few hours: “677,000 refugees have now fled Ukraine to neighboring countries in the past six days,” he said. “That is 150,000 more, in less than 24 hours.”
The UN estimates that 12 million people inside Ukraine will need relief and protection, while more than four million refugees may need protection and assistance in neighboring countries in the coming months.
Reacting to reports that third-country refugees have been ill-treated at border crossings and inside Ukraine as they try to seek shelter, the UN refugee chief insisted that “there should be absolutely no discrimination between Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians. Europeans and non-Europeans. Everybody is fleeing from the same risks.”
While the European Union is discussing the possibility of giving temporary protection status to refugees from Ukraine, the tragedy is “likely to introduce a new dimension to the many years of debate on asylum status, responsibility sharing and so forth”, said Mr. Grandi.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has already received more than $40 million in private contributions from individuals or companies, an “unprecedented” feat, he added. “I've never seen it and I think it's positive.”
Ends
STORY: UN Emergency appeals for Ukraine and neighbouring countries – OCHA and UNHCR
TRT: 3 mins 24s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 01 March 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, UN flag alley UN Geneva.
- Wide shot, press room UN Geneva, podium speakers, seated, with TV screen to the side.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA): “Today, we are launching a humanitarian appeal for the Ukraine crisis with two components: a three-month flash appeal for the situation inside the country, which I have been coordinating, and a regional response plan for the situation beyond Ukraine's borders.”
- Close-up, journalists in profile, masked, with Filippo Grandi on TV screen to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA): “The flash appeal for response inside Ukraine, which I'm responsible for coordinating, will need $1.1 billion in funding for three months, to help six million of the most vulnerable in Ukraine for that three-month. And of those six million, we calculate over a million will be internally displaced.”
- Medium shot, podium speakers in profile.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “We have a fairly good picture of the initial needs for the first few months: $550 million, this is what we're appealing for today. This is UNHCR and 12 partner agencies.”
- Close-up, participant checking mobile phone.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “The numbers that we are beginning to see are extremely worrying. Last night, at the Security Council, I reported 520,000 refugees. Now, less than 24 hours before (later) the latest figure I just got it is 677,000. So, another 150,000 added in less than 24 hours.”
- Wide shot, press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “I don't have the detailed breakdown of the 677 (677,000 refugees), but about half are in Poland. This is the country that is clearly, as we predicted, receiving most refugees. About 90,000, probably a little bit more, forgive me if the figures are a bit fluid, have gone to Hungary; almost 60,000 to Moldova, almost 50,000 to Slovakia and almost - or I would say by now - 40,000, in Romania.”
- Close-up, TV camera operator standing by camera, podium speakers to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “There should be absolutely no discrimination between Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians, Europeans and non-Europeans. Everybody is fleeing from the same risks.”
- Wide shot, press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “The tragedy, the enormous wave of refugees from Ukraine is likely to introduce a new dimension to the many years of debate on asylum status, responsibility sharing and so forth”.
- Cutaway
- SOUNDBITE (English): Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “UNHCR has already received more than $40 million in private contributions from individuals or companies. This is unprecedented. I've never seen it and I think it's positive.”
- Medium shot, participants, seated.
- Medium shot, participants, seated.
- Medium shot, podium speakers.
- Medium shot, TV and video journalists.
Similar Stories
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In war-torn Gaza, a growing number of women-headed households face “impossible decisions” every day, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and still-scarce resources, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar at the 63rd Human Rights Council.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today delivered an update on the global human rights situation to the 63rdsession of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated attacks on humanitarian warehouses put vital medical aid at risk in Ukraine - WHO
A new airstrike overnight damaged one of the main warehouses used by the UN health agency to store humanitarian medical supplies in the Kyiv region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. This is the third attack to affect a WHO-used storage in the last three months.
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UN WOMEN , WHO
Nepal flood deaths near 1,000 as those spared struggle to survive – UN humanitarians
With the death toll in Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods inching towards 1,000, rescue workers are facing harsh conditions while survivors lack access to food, safe water and health care, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNDRR , IFRC , WHO
Nepal: Flooding disaster “not over” as humanitarians work around the clock
While search and rescue efforts continued Friday following flash floods and mudslides in northern Nepal, UN humanitarians are taking stock of the devastation amid concerns over more flooding to come.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
Damaged roads, disrupted services and renewed military activity are putting civilians at risk in south Lebanon, UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) warns.
The UN peacekeeping mission is urging restraint and renewed political engagement to prevent further escalation.
1
1
1
Edited News | ICRC , UNODA
Amid unconfirmed reports that fully autonomous and AI-guided drones are now being used on the battlefield, UN chief António Guterres and the President of the Red Cross on Tuesday renewed their urgent call for stricter controls, before it is too late.