UN pleads for record £2.7bn aid

The UN said it was worth the equivalent of 48 hours of worldwide military spending or the cost of two cups of coffee for the planet's billion richest people.

"In a world of plenty, continued suffering is a terrible stain on our conscience," said Kofi Annan, the UN secretary- general. "It is inexcusable that we not strive, with every resource at our disposal, to eliminate suffering."

The UN has never asked for so much money in its appeal to start the year as previously the funding for assistance for major disasters and crises was raised separately.

About a third of the money is planned for Sudan and the conflict in its Darfur region. Improved stability in Congo has made much of the country more accessible, raising the amount needed to about 678 million, while relief officials now have a better idea of what is needed and where, Jan Egeland, the UN humanitarian relief co-ordinator said.

"We can afford to clothe, to feed, to care for all of the children of this world," he said.

Countries covered include a host of African nations that have long been in crisis, including Chad, Congo, Liberia, Somalia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Also on the list are Russia's breakaway region of Chechnya, the Palestinian territories, Colombia and Nepal.

The aid sought for Sudan reflects the grave nature of the problem in Darfur, where humanitarian work is threatened by continued clashes between government-backed Arab militias and rebel groups, Mr Egeland said.

"It's not going well in Darfur at all," he said. "We are stretched to the limit. We're hanging in there by our fingernails."

The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees said a lack of money was forcing it to cut back aid to displaced Sudanese people in Chad and Darfur as the violence escalates.

Craig Sanders, the UNHCR's head of desk for Chad and Darfur, said: "A few months ago it was a relatively positive situation, but since then we've seen an increase in violence. We are very, very concerned."

Providing aid to refugees in Sudan and Chad is one of the most expensive humanitarian operations under way, and funding is getting scarcer, he said.

"We are having to tighten the belt. We are having to freeze certain activities," Mr Sanders said.

Donors around the world met just 57 per cent of last year's appeal and focused on forgotten crises.

A chronic problem is that 90 per cent of aid comes from just ten nations, including the US, Britain, Japan and several Scandinavian nations.

Middle East and Persian Gulf states continue to eschew the appeals, Mr Egeland said. "We expect the oil-rich countries to give more to us than they are giving now on average."

"The ten top donors are more or less the same now as a few years ago. There are growing economies on many continents which should become bigger donors.

"We are asking exactly the amount of 48 hours of military spending in this world, or we're asking for the equivalent of two cups of coffee per rich person."

This year's humanitarian appeal would cover work by 18 UN agencies and 113 non-governmental organisations operating around the world next year.

If other disasters arose as they did in 2005, Mr Egeland said the appeal could eventually top 3.5 billion. He also said he hoped a 288 million global emergency fund would be set up in February, to respond to unforeseen crises, such as the earthquake in northern India and Pakistan.

The United States topped this year's list of donors to UN appeals giving nearly 560 million. Japan was second, donating 215 million, with the European Commission in third on 174 million, private donations in fourth on 163 million and Britain in fifth place on 107 million.

Norway, which has the world's 24th largest economy, was sixth on the list of donors giving 85 million. The Netherlands, Canada, Germany and Sweden made up the rest of the top ten.

Also yesterday, which was World AIDS Day, the UN called for an "exceptional response" to the global crisis. It said that while adult infection rates had dropped in some countries due to increased use of condoms and changes in sexual behaviour, the epidemic continued to grow.

The number of people living with HIV has reached its highest level with an estimated 40.3 million people, Peter Piot, the UNAIDS executive director said. Nearly half of them are women. AIDS has killed more than three million people this year.

"The lessons of nearly 25 years into the AIDS epidemic are clear. Investments made in HIV prevention break the cycle of new infections."

President George Bush said yesterday progress was being made in the fight against AIDS in Africa and that the US-backed Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief was helping provide medical treatment in Uganda, Kenya, Botswana and Namibia.

"These countries, and many others, are fighting for the lives of their citizens, and America is now their strongest partner in that fight," he said at an event marking World AIDS Day. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst place for worldwide HIV/AIDS deaths as well as for new infections - cutting life expectancy in many countries, leaving millions of children orphaned and reducing agricultural output.