The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Thursday asked donors for more than 1.094 billion Swiss francs (about 968.2 million U.S. dollars) to fund its humanitarian work in some 80 countries in 2008.
"It is as crucial as ever that the ICRC responds to the needs arising from the full range of armed conflicts around the world and their direct consequences," said ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger on launching the annual appeal to donors in Geneva.
The ICRC's 2008 budget includes a record initial figure of 932.6 million Swiss francs (about 825.3 million dollars) for field operations and 161.5 million Swiss francs (about 142.9 million dollars) for support provided by the organization's headquarters in Geneva.
The initial field budget for 2008, at 89 million Swiss francs (about 78.8 million dollars) above the corresponding figure presented a year ago, is the highest ever.
"This record amount is mainly due to the ICRC's independent and neutral humanitarian approach, which has enabled it to gain access to certain conflict zones where the need for humanitarian aid is increasing," said Kellenberger.
Iraq will constitute the ICRC's largest humanitarian operation, at an expected cost of more than 107 million Swiss francs (about 94.7 million dollars) in 2008.
This amount reflects the organization's renewed commitment to meet the acute medical needs in Iraq and to aid large numbers of Iraqis displaced within their own country.
Other major operations include those in Sudan, with a budget of106.4 million Swiss francs (about 94.2 million dollars), and Afghanistan, where the cost is expected to be 60.3 million Swiss francs (about 53.4 million dollars).
Source: Xinhua
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