DOHA, 5 December 2012 (IRIN) - In the last three decades, 50 million people in the Arab world have been affected by natural disasters, many of them extreme climate events, according to a new report by the World Bank. The report projects the horrific scenario of temperatures regularly rising over 50 degrees Celsius by the turn of the century, which experts fear could lead to countless more disasters.

28 November 2012 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Abdullah Al Matouq of Kuwait to work closely with the United Nations humanitarian chief to build stronger partnerships in Kuwait and the Persian Gulf region.

As the Humanitarian Envoy for Kuwait, Mr. Al Matouq will “ensure stronger linkages” between the UN and decision-makers in Kuwait and the region with the overall objective of supporting multilateral humanitarian response efforts, according to the announcement of his appointment.

The Persian Gulf, Libya, and Pakistan are at high risk of food insecurity in coming decades because climate change and ocean acidification are destroying fisheries, according to a report released on Monday.

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Welcome to this third annual conference to promote humanitarian partnerships and information sharing. It is a great pleasure to be here again.

Thank you to the Government of Kuwait and the IICO for hosting this meeting. And thank you to the Advisory Board of the Effective Partnership and Information Sharing Initiative, who have done such a good job of organizing the conference.

Since 2003, the International Committee of the Red Cross has been publishing, in cooperation with the League of Arab States, an annual report on the implementation of IHL in the Middle East and North Africa.

This report covers the following countries: Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, and Yemen, and not all States member of the League of Arab States.

This article is part of an AlertNet special report on humanitarian aid: futureofaid.trust.org

By Alex Whiting

LONDON (AlertNet) - Emerging powers are gaining influence on the international humanitarian aid scene, bringing new funds and perspectives.

Here are the top 10 new donors in terms of humanitarian aid reported to the United Nations between 2006 and 2010. Much of the aid from emerging donors is not reported.