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2d ago

U.S. Pledges $2 Billion to U.N. Aid, Ties Funds to Overhaul of Humanitarian System

The move routes money through OCHA under U.S. consolidation demands that critics warn will not close widening funding gaps.

FILE - People carry sacks and boxes of food and humanitarian aid that was unloaded from a World Food Program convoy that had been heading to Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi, File)
A general view of a U.S. State Department sign outside the U.S. State Department building in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 11, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo
FILE - A woman and her children, survivors of Sunday night's 6.0-magnitude earthquake, wait for assistance in the village of Wadir, Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Nava Jamshidi, File)
FILE - Women displaced from El-Fasher stand in line to receive food aid at the newly established El-Afadh camp in Al Dabbah, in Sudan's Northern State, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali, File)

Overview

  • State Department officials announced a $2 billion commitment to U.N. humanitarian operations in a preliminary arrangement unveiled in Geneva.
  • The pledge marks a steep pullback from recent years when U.S. support reached as high as $17 billion, with total U.S. humanitarian contributions to the U.N. falling to about $3.38 billion in 2025.
  • The funding will be pooled and allocated through OCHA, with U.S. officials saying the coordination office will control distribution under a push to reduce duplication and enforce a “adapt, shrink or die” mandate.
  • The initial focus spans 17 countries including Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Syria, and Ukraine, while Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories are excluded from this pool.
  • Officials provided no details on specific allocations or any follow-on pledges, as U.N. agencies face program cuts and the U.N. seeks $23 billion for its 2026 appeal to reach 87 million people.