By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed former British diplomat Tom Fletcher as the new aid chief for the world body amid worsening humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip, Sudan and elsewhere, largely driven by conflict.
Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
The announcement comes as U.N. efforts to tackle humanitarian needs around the world are significantly underfunded.
"The humanitarian community is underfunded, overstretched and under attack. We must reset the relationship between the world and those in direst need. We can be better neighbours and ancestors," Fletcher posted on X.
"I will defend humanitarians, humanitarian values, and - most importantly - the people we are there to serve," he said.
Fletcher - who is currently the principal of Hertford College, Oxford - was the British ambassador to Lebanon from 2011-2015 and served as the foreign and development policy adviser to three British prime ministers between 2007-2011, the U.N. said in a statement.
He "has strong experience of leading and transforming organizations and bringing an understanding of diplomacy at the highest levels," the U.N. said. U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said he did not know when Fletcher would take up the role.
The U.N. has appealed for $49 billion in 2024 to help 187.6 million of the people in need across 73 countries. But the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which Fletcher will lead, said on Wednesday that so far it has only received $16.21 billion.