U.N. seeks record $41 billion for aid to hotspots led by Afghanistan, Ethiopia

FILE PHOTO: A boy sells food in a park in Kabul, Afghanistan October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations appealed on Thursday for a record $41 billion to provide life-saving assistance next year to 183 million people worldwide caught up in conflict and poverty, led by a tripling of its programme in Afghanistan.

Famine remains a "terrifying prospect" for 45 million people living in 43 countries, as extreme weather caused by climate change shrinks food supplies, the U.N. said in the annual appeal, which reflected a 17% rise in annual funding needs.