2. The UN fears that hard-won peace intiatives could be doomed if outside assistance is not forthcoming, particularly in Seirra Leone and Congo. The UN has received less than half the $769m it appealed for in 1999 to give urgent help to 12m people in Africa. The UN's top emergency official, Sergio Vieira de Mello, said that a number of donor countries were experiencing stock-market booms, budget surpluses and positive rates of growth, but overseas aid had droped since the early 1990s from $63bn to $48bn.