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14h ago

U.S. Pledges $2 Billion to UN Relief Under OCHA Control With Reform Conditions

The pledge pairs reduced U.S. support with a push to centralize relief under OCHA.

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

  • U.S. officials said OCHA chief Tom Fletcher will control allocations through a new umbrella fund that channels money to agencies and priorities.
  • The State Department set consolidation as a condition for support and warned UN agencies to “adapt, shrink, or die.”
  • An initial slate of 17 countries will be targeted, including Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Syria and Ukraine.
  • Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories are excluded, with officials saying Palestinian needs will be addressed under a separate Gaza plan still in development.
  • The $2 billion outlay is far below recent U.S. humanitarian contributions that reached up to $17 billion, as the UN pursues a 2026 appeal after deep funding cuts forced major program reductions.