NEW YORK: Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah was given a special mention for his role in co-chairing the High Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing at the 71st United Nations General Assembly here, yesterday.
Bulgarian president Rosen Plevneliev paid tribute to the valuable contribution by Sultan Nazrin and his co-chair in the panel, European Commission vice-president Kristalina Georgieva, in highlighting the need for closer coordination between humanitarian and development action.
Plevneliev said this in his speech during the High Level Meeting to Address the Large Movement of Refugees and Migrants which adopted the New York Declaration that “emphasises our common objective for strengthened coordination and cooperation within the UN system.
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon established the panel in May last year to examine humanitarian financing challenges and identify ways in which the gap between rising needs and the resources available to meet them can be closed.
“It will also work on generating solutions around the issues of more timely and predictable funding, as well as ways in which resources can be used more effectively,” he had said.
In his announcement, Ban had said the demand for humanitarian aid has risen dramatically.
“The number of people in need has more than doubled since 2004 to over 100 million today, and current humanitarian funding requirements for 2015 stand at $19.1 billion, up from $3.4 billion in 2004.
“All these and other dynamics are contributing to a situation in which current resources and funding flows are insufficient to meet the rising demand for aid.
“In addition, humanitarian actors are expected to stay longer and longer in countries and regions impacted by long-running crises and conflicts,” he said, in citing pressing reasons which led him to establish the panel then.