The United Nations has appealed for $46 billion in funding for 2024 to help millions of people affected by humanitarian crises around the globe, including in the occupied Palestinian territories, Sudan and Ukraine, Reuters reports.

In its Global Humanitarian Overview for 2024, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that nearly 300 million people will require humanitarian assistance next year due to conflicts, climate emergencies and economic factors.

“We will target for our specific needs, for the agencies that I represent, 181 million of those 300,” said UN aid chief Martin Griffiths.

Griffiths described this as the “worst funding shortfall in years.” He said it had been difficult to decrease the appeal for 2024 and ensure aid agencies were “realistic, focused and tough-minded” when assessing needs.

“I think the Middle East as a whole and Gaza and West Bank in probably going to be the area of greatest need,” Griffiths said.