Iran war-funding could have saved 87 million lives, says UN: Here’s how much is spent on the conflict every day
Tom Fletcher, the head of the UN’s humanitarian agency, also predicted that, with food and fuel inflation inching closer to 20%, the world will feel the impact for years, pushing more people in sub-Saharan Africa and east Africa into poverty.
The United Nations’ humanitarian agency has flagged that the war in Iran is having ripple effect across the world and that its funding could have saved 87 million lives if allocated as humanitarian aid.
Speaking at Chatham House in London, Tom Fletcher, the head of the UN’s humanitarian agency, also predicted that, with food and fuel inflation inching closer to 20%, the world will feel the impact for years, pushing more people in sub-Saharan Africa and east Africa into poverty.
“For every day of this conflict, $2bn is being spent. My entire target for a hyper-prioritised plan to save 87 million lives is $23bn. We could have funded that in less than a fortnight of this reckless war. Now, of course, we cannot,” The Guardian quoted Fletcher as saying.
Why UN’s humanitarian agency is in short of funds?
Fletcher is struggling with a humanitarian aid funding crisis, amounting to a 50% cut in his budget. Apart form the US-Iran war, the international cuts to overseas aid driven by a mix of ideology and demands from defence budgets are also taking a toll on the budget. A former UK diplomat and foreign policy adviser to successive prime ministers, also accused British politicians of indulging in internal conflicts for more than 10 years leaving the UK in a “defensive crouch”.
Fletcher slams Trump for normalising use of violent landuage
Fletcher also warned against the normalisation of use of violent language by US President Donald Trump. “The idea suddenly that it is OK to say, ‘We are going to blow stuff up, we are going to bomb you back to the stone ages, destroy your civilisation’ – normalising that kind of language is really dangerous.” “It gives more freedom to all the other wannabe autocrats round the world to use that sort of language and those sort of tactics, targeting civilian infrastructure and civilians in a way that completely breaches international law,” The Guardian quoted him as saying
Describing UN’s relations with the Trump administration as a “rollercoaster ride”, he has now made some progress in convincing the president’s team that the UN is “not just a bunch of woke, incompetent, useless, exhausted bureaucrats”.
How the war in Iran affects India’s GDP growth
According to a new assessment by World Bank, India’s real economic growth rate is expected to dip below the crucial 7% mark in the current financial year thanks to the war in Iran, Express journalist Udit Mishra reported last week. On February 27, the government pegged India’s real GDP growth rate at 7.2% for FY24, 7.1% in FY25 and 7.6% in FY26. The very next day, however, the US and Israel attacked Iran, and by last week, India’s GDP growth rate had been dented enough to dip below the 7% mark according to the World Bank’s latest India Development Update. “In the absence of the conflict, GDP growth was projected at 7.2 percent… Growth is now projected at 6.6 percent in FY27, reflecting headwinds from the Middle East conflict — assuming an extended disruption in global energy (oil and gas) supply till end-2026,” stated the World Bank.
— with inputs form The Guardian
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
The United Nations’ humanitarian agency has flagged that the war in Iran is having ripple effect across the world and that its funding could have saved 87 million lives if allocated as humanitarian aid.
Speaking at Chatham House in London, Tom Fletcher, the head of the UN’s humanitarian agency, also predicted that, with food and fuel inflation inching closer to 20%, the world will feel the impact for years, pushing more people in sub-Saharan Africa and east Africa into poverty.
“For every day of this conflict, $2bn is being spent. My entire target for a hyper-prioritised plan to save 87 million lives is $23bn. We could have funded that in less than a fortnight of this reckless war. Now, of course, we cannot,” The Guardian quoted Fletcher as saying.
Why UN’s humanitarian agency is in short of funds?
Fletcher is struggling with a humanitarian aid funding crisis, amounting to a 50% cut in his budget. Apart form the US-Iran war, the international cuts to overseas aid driven by a mix of ideology and demands from defence budgets are also taking a toll on the budget. A former UK diplomat and foreign policy adviser to successive prime ministers, also accused British politicians of indulging in internal conflicts for more than 10 years leaving the UK in a “defensive crouch”.
Fletcher slams Trump for normalising use of violent landuage
Fletcher also warned against the normalisation of use of violent language by US President Donald Trump. “The idea suddenly that it is OK to say, ‘We are going to blow stuff up, we are going to bomb you back to the stone ages, destroy your civilisation’ – normalising that kind of language is really dangerous.” “It gives more freedom to all the other wannabe autocrats round the world to use that sort of language and those sort of tactics, targeting civilian infrastructure and civilians in a way that completely breaches international law,” The Guardian quoted him as saying
Describing UN’s relations with the Trump administration as a “rollercoaster ride”, he has now made some progress in convincing the president’s team that the UN is “not just a bunch of woke, incompetent, useless, exhausted bureaucrats”.
How the war in Iran affects India’s GDP growth
According to a new assessment by World Bank, India’s real economic growth rate is expected to dip below the crucial 7% mark in the current financial year thanks to the war in Iran, Express journalist Udit Mishra reported last week. On February 27, the government pegged India’s real GDP growth rate at 7.2% for FY24, 7.1% in FY25 and 7.6% in FY26. The very next day, however, the US and Israel attacked Iran, and by last week, India’s GDP growth rate had been dented enough to dip below the 7% mark according to the World Bank’s latest India Development Update. “In the absence of the conflict, GDP growth was projected at 7.2 percent… Growth is now projected at 6.6 percent in FY27, reflecting headwinds from the Middle East conflict — assuming an extended disruption in global energy (oil and gas) supply till end-2026,” stated the World Bank.
— with inputs form The Guardian
