The United Nations has appealed to countries throughout the world to give them $7.9 billion to help them improve efforts that migrate people across the globe who have left their homes for many reasons, including both local conflict and the effects of climate change.
On Monday, the International Organization for Migration of the UN made the plea for all that money in Geneva. The IOM said it needed the money to support what it was already doing in this regard as well as help “create a system that realizes migration’s promise as a force for good throughout the world.”
The group released a statement that read:
“The IOM Global Appeal seeks funding to save lives and protect people on the move, drive solutions to displacement and facilitate safe pathways for regular migration.”
All of those objectives are part of a new five-year Global Strategic Plan that the IOM has put forth.
According to the organization, the money is needed to serve the almost 140 million people who have been displaced from their homes. It would also go toward helping the new communities that end up hosting these migrants.
The IOM said the funding would be crucial to expand its development work that they say is helping to prevent even more displacement in the future.
As part of its plea, the IOM has called on individual donors, the private sector, governments and “other partners” to give money to their fund. They added that this is the first time that such an appeal of this magnitude has been issued.
Of the total amount that the IOM is requesting, roughly $3.4 billion would be allocated to “saving lives and protecting people on the move,” while another $1.6 billion would go toward facilitating “regular pathways for migration.”
The IOM didn’t provide specific details on how that money might be spent. In the past, though, the UN has given migrants cash debit cards so they could buy things such as basic necessities, prescription drugs and food.
Another $2.7 billion has been proposed to go to “solutions to displacement,” which could include reducing the impact and risks that climate change poses to people across the world, according to the organization.
The organization says it also needs $163 million for “transforming IOM to deliver services in a better, more effective way.”
Migration has now reached levels that are unprecedented, according to the IOM’s director general, Amy Pope. At the same time, she said that this migrant is a big benefit to the entire world.
As she explained:
“The evidence is overwhelming that migration, when well managed, is a major contributor to global prosperity and progress. We are at a critical moment in time, and we have designed this appeal to help deliver on that promise. We can and must do better.”
Many countries such as the U.S. are struggling mightily with dealing with the problem of significantly increased illegal immigration. Many regions throughout America are having a hard time paying for all the services that these migrants need, such as food and housing.
