Overview
- The State Department and the United Nations signed a financing agreement that U.S. officials say will reshape how Washington designs, funds, and oversees UN humanitarian work.
- The U.S. announced a $2 billion commitment to UN humanitarian programs, far below recent years when American contributions reached about $17 billion.
- American officials described the $2 billion as initial disbursements for OCHA, while UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the deposits into OCHA-managed funds are a record.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the new model aims to avoid funding programs deemed wasteful or ineffective and to shift more of the humanitarian burden to other developed countries.
- UN agencies face staff cuts and program reductions as a budget crunch deepens, with roughly $3 billion in delayed U.S. dues and OCHA reporting 2025 humanitarian funding as the lowest in a decade.