UNITED NATIONS, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations has released 110 million U.S. dollars in emergency aid for Africa, Asia and Latin America following cuts in donor funding, the UN aid agency said on Thursday.

Tom Fletcher, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, allocated the money from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) on the heels of "global humanitarian funding being scaled back precipitously," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The aim, OCHA said, is to boost life-saving assistance in 10 of the world's most underfunded and neglected crises across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The new funding will go towards Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Chad, Honduras, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia, Sudan, Venezuela and Zambia. Resources will also support vulnerable people from climate shocks.

More than 300 million people worldwide urgently need humanitarian aid, but funding has been dwindling annually, "with this year's levels projected to drop to a record low," OCHA said.

The United States, the largest single donor of humanitarian aid to the United Nations, has significantly slashed its foreign aid spending, although courts have ordered some relief funds restored.

Fletcher said that "brutal funding cuts" don't mean humanitarian needs disappear for countries battered by conflict, climate change and economic turmoil.

The UN's CERF allocates resources twice a year for underfunded emergencies as a way to spotlight the need for additional funding from member states and others.

This year, the United Nations is seeking nearly 45 billion dollars to reach 185 million of the most vulnerable people caught up in crises worldwide. So far, just 5 percent of this funding has been received, according to OCHA. Enditem

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