UN cuts global aid plan as funding plummets
The United Nations has announced sweeping cuts to its global humanitarian operations, blaming what it described as the 'deepest funding cuts ever' for a drastic scaling back of its aid ambitions.
In a statement released on Monday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it was now appealing for $29bn in aid – down sharply from the $44bn it had requested in December – and would refocus on the most critical emergencies under a 'hyper-prioritised' plan.
The move follows a steep decline in funding from key donors, with the United States – historically the largest contributor – having slashed foreign aid under the administration of President Donald Trump.
Other donors have since followed suit, citing global economic uncertainty. So far this year, the UN has received only $5.6bn, a mere 13 percent of what it initially sought.
This comes as humanitarian needs soar in conflict zones, including Sudan, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Myanmar.
'Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices,' said undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Tom Fletcher.
'All we ask is 1 percent of what you spent 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,' he added.
OCHA said remaining aid efforts would be redirected towards the most urgent crises and aligned with planning already under way for 2025 to ensure maximum impact with limited funds.
'We have been forced into a triage of human survival,' Fletcher said. 'The math 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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
5 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
LIVE: Outrage over report Israeli troops ordered to shoot Gaza aid seekers
US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached 'within the next week' as Israeli attacks continue, with more than 60 people killed across the territory on Friday. Gaza's Government Media Office says revelations in the Israeli media that soldiers were ordered to 'deliberately shoot' starving Palestinians seeking aid supplies are further evidence of 'war crimes' in Gaza.
Al Jazeera
7 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump says Gaza ceasefire possible ‘within the next week', gives no details
United States President Donald Trump said he believes a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas could be reached within a week. Trump came out with the surprise comment while speaking to reporters on Friday, saying he was hopeful after speaking to some of the people involved in trying to get a truce. 'I think it's close. I just spoke to some of the people involved,' Trump said. 'We think within the next week we're going to get a ceasefire,' the president said, without revealing who he had been in contact with. Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman in Jordan, said Trump's comment will be 'welcome news' to the starved and bombed population of Gaza, but she also cautioned that there are 'no negotiations at this moment happening anywhere in the region'. 'What we do know is that talk of a ceasefire increased exponentially after the ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Israel does not want to talk about ending the war. In fact, the Israeli prime minister would be risking a lot if he did,' Odeh said. But, she added, there is an understanding, according to many reports, that Netanyahu would have to agree to some sort of ceasefire in exchange for normalisation deals with Arab states, which the Trump administration has promoted. Hamas, on the other hand, requires that Israel stop its war on Gaza and for the Israeli military to withdraw from areas it seized in Gaza after breaking the last ceasefire in March. 'Hamas also wants US guarantees that negotiations would continue and that Israel wouldn't break the ceasefire again if more time was needed for negotiations,' Odeh added. Trump's ceasefire prediction comes at a time of mounting killings by Israeli forces in Gaza and growing international condemnation of Israel's war amid the latest revelation that soldiers said they were ordered to shoot unarmed Palestinian civilians seeking humanitarian aid in the territory. Authorities in Gaza said the report by the Haaretz media outlet that Israeli commanders ordered the deliberate shooting of starving Palestinians was further proof of Israel's 'war crimes' in the war-torn territory. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz have rejected the report of commanders targeting civilians, Gaza's Health Ministry has reported that almost 550 Palestinians have been killed near US- and Israel-backed aid distribution points in Gaza since late May. 'People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families,' United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday. 'The search for food must never be a death sentence,' he said. Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (also known by its French acronym MSF) branded the situation in Gaza as 'slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid'. A spokesperson for the office of Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said they had no information to share about a possible ceasefire breakthrough in Gaza. Witkoff helped former US President Joe Biden's aides broker a ceasefire and captive release agreement in Gaza shortly before Trump took office in January. But the truce was broken by Israel in March when it launched a wave of surprise bombing attacks across the territory. Israeli officials said that only military action would result in the return of captives held in Gaza, and imposed a blockade on food, water, medicine and fuel entering the territory that led to widespread starvation among the 2.1 million population. Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer is scheduled to visit Washington next week for talks with Trump administration officials on Gaza, Iran and a possible White House visit by Netanyahu, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Al Jazeera
12 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Qatar emphasises peaceful resolution of conflicts after DRC-Rwanda deal
Qatari diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi has welcomed the peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), saying that it came after several rounds of talks, some of which were held in Doha. The deal, signed in Washington, DC, on Friday with backing from the United States and Qatar, will see Rwandan soldiers withdraw from the DRC and the two countries set up mechanisms to enhance trade and security cooperation. 'We hope that the sides will adhere to the terms of the agreement to de-escalate and bolster the security and stability of the … region,' al-Khulaifi, who serves as minister of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Al Jazeera. Al-Khulaifi added that the meeting between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, hosted by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha in March, was followed by a series of talks, paving the way for Friday's deal. 'Qatar enjoys excellent relationships with both countries and has earned the trust of both countries as a mediator and international partner trying to resolve these issues,' he said. 'Doha was a platform for these meetings, and we contributed [to reaching the agreement] with the US.' The Reuters news agency reported earlier this month that Qatar presented a draft peace proposal to Rwanda and the DRC after negotiations in Doha. On Friday, the US Department of State said the US, Qatar, the African Union and Togo 'will continue to engage both parties to ensure implementation of the obligations laid out in the agreement'. The agreement has sparked hopes of ending the conflict in the DRC, where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has been advancing in the resource-rich east of the country. The renewed violence had raised fears of igniting a full-blown conflict, akin to the wars that the DRC endured in the late 1990s, involving several African countries, which killed millions of people. 'Qatar fully believes in dialogue as the cornerstone for resolving conflict through peaceful means,' al-Khulaifi said. 'Qatar believes that mediation is a pillar of its foreign policy. That's why, hopefully, you will find Qatar always racing to try to resolve issues between countries, even countries that are geographically far from Qatar.' Qatar has played a key role in securing diplomatic deals in various conflicts across the world over the past years. Most recently, it helped mediate the ceasefire agreement that ended the 12-day war between Israel and Iran. 'What pleases me is that this agreement came days after another agreement which Qatar contributed to with the US – and that's the ceasefire between Iran and Israel,' al-Khulaifi said. 'Qatar will not spare any efforts to engage in more attempts to de-escalate and pursue peaceful means to end these conflicts.'
