UN slashes global aid plan over ‘deepest funding cuts ever’

GENEVA - The United Nations said on June 16 it was drastically scaling back its global humanitarian aid plans because of the “deepest funding cuts ever” – leaving tens of millions of people facing dire straits.

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said it was seeking US$29 billion (S$37.12 billion) in funding for 2025, compared with the US$44 billion originally requested in December, in a “hyper-prioritised” appeal.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said later on Monday that it would have to terminate 3,500 jobs, cutting 30 per cent of its workforce costs, as aid funding evaporates.

Since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, the US – the world’s top donor – has heavily slashed foreign aid, causing havoc in the humanitarian sector across the globe.

Drastic US funding cuts have had dramatic consequences for emergency aid, vaccination campaigns and

the distribution of drugs to fight Aids

.

Other major donor countries have also cut back their contributions in the face of an uncertain economic outlook.

“Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices,” Ocha chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

“All we ask is 1 per cent of what you chose to spend last year on war. But this isn’t just an appeal for money – it’s a call for global responsibility, for human solidarity, for a commitment to end the suffering.”

‘Cruel’, ‘heartbreaking’

In late April, while visiting a hospital in Kandahar in Afghanistan, Mr Fletcher warned: “Cutting funding for those in greatest need is not something to boast about... The impact of aid cuts is that millions die.”

With 2025 nearly halfway through, the UN has received only US$5.6 billion out of the US$44 billion originally sought for 2025 – a mere 13 per cent.

In total, the original plan covered more than 70 countries and aimed to assist nearly 190 million vulnerable people.

Even so, that plan acknowledged there were 115 million people the UN would not be able to reach.

“We have been forced into a triage of human survival,” Mr Fletcher said on June 16.

The mathematics “is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking”.

“Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given,” he said.

Aid will now be directed so that it can “reach the people and places facing the most urgent needs”, with those in “extreme or catastrophic conditions” as the starting point, said Mr Fletcher.

“This will ensure that limited resources are directed where they can do the most good – as quickly as possible,” the statement said.

‘Red alert’

Mr Fletcher’s call came as the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Food Programme (WFP) issued a joint early warning report identifying worsening hunger in 13 hot spots.

Sudan, the Palestinian territories, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali have communities “already facing famine, at risk of famine or confronted with catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity”, said the report.

“The devastating crises are being exacerbated by growing access constraints and critical funding shortfalls,” it said.

Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Nigeria are now considered of very high concern and requiring urgent attention to save lives and livelihoods, it added, with Burkina Faso, Chad, Somalia and Syria the other hot spots.

“This report is a red alert,” said WFP chief Cindy McCain.

“Without funding and access, we cannot save lives. Urgent, sustained investment in food assistance and recovery support is crucial as the window to avert yet more devastating hunger is closing fast.”

Refuguee agency slashes jobs

Washington previously made up more than 40 per cent of the UNHCR refugee agency’s budget – US$2 billion per year, the agency’s chief Filippo Grandi told the UN Security Council in April.

“In light of difficult financial realities, UNHCR is compelled to reduce the overall scale of its operations,” Mr Grandi said in June 16’s statement.

UNHCR estimates that it will end 2025 with available funding at about the same level as a decade ago – despite the number of people forced to flee their homes having nearly doubled over the same period to more than 122 million.

“In total, approximately 3,500 staff positions will be discontinued,” the statement said, while hundreds of temporary workers have gone already.

“Overall, UNHCR estimates a global reduction in staffing costs of around 30 per cent,” the agency said. AFP