THE International Organisation for Migration launched its first global appeal today to ensure smoother pathways for displaced people worldwide.

The Geneva-based UN agency said it was seeking $7.9 billion (around £6.2bn) at a time when the fallout from climate change, conflict and economic distress has caused millions to leave their home countries.

The hereafter annual appeal places the agency in competition for funds with other UN bodies and humanitarian groups, at a time when many top donor governments are reducing aid outlays.

The UN humanitarian aid chief, Martin Griffiths, last month complained of a “severe and ominous funding crisis.”

He said the overall $57bn (around £45bn) appeal from his UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs last year was only about one-third funded, making it the worst funding shortfall in years. His agency is seeking $46 bn (£36bn) this year.

The migration agency’s new director-general, Amy Pope, said: “Irregular and forced migration have reached unprecedented levels and the challenges we face are increasingly complex. 

“The evidence is overwhelming that migration, when well-managed, is a major contributor to global prosperity and progress.”