A new United Nations report says that the world needs to spend an additional $15 billion per year on humanitarian assistance to victims of conflicts and natural disasters.
In a report to be presented by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Dubai on January 17, a UN panel says the world is currently spending $25 billion each year, more than 12 times what was spent just 15 years ago.
"We have an exponentially growing problem," said Kristalina Georgieva, one of the nine members of the panel that wrote the report and the European Commission's vice president for budget and human resources.
The study looks at new sources of funding for humanitarian aid, including a voluntary tax on soccer or concert tickets and tapping into Islamic financing mechanisms and alms-giving.
The study also urges expanding the pool of donor countries, noting that currently five countries provide about two-thirds of all public humanitarian aid.
