The United Nations and its partners today called for $7.7 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to 51 million people in 16 countries over the course of next year, launching the largest appeal in two decades.

The appeal for 2012 is the largest launched since the creation of the Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) in 1991, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

It comprises appeals for Afghanistan, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Haiti, Kenya, Niger, the occupied Palestinian territory, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

The $2.4 billion requested in 2011 for these four countries in the region has been 78 per cent funded. Total requirements for the Horn of Africa will be 20 per cent higher in 2012 than for 2011.

The appeal is also seeking $763 million to help people in the world’s newest nation, South Sudan; $718 million for DRC; $455 million for Chad; $437 million for Afghanistan; $416 million for the occupied Palestinian territory; and $230 million for Haiti, among other countries.

Last year the UN and its partners sought more than $7.4 billion to help 50 million people suffering from the effects of conflicts and natural disasters in 28 countries.