The United Nations warned Monday that it is drastically scaling back humanitarian operations worldwide following what it described as the “deepest funding cuts ever.”
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it is now seeking just $29 billion in funding for 2025, down sharply from the $44 billion requested in December. The decision follows a steep drop in foreign aid commitments, particularly from the United States, long the world’s largest donor. In May, the Trump administration announced sweeping budget cuts to USAID, which Trump himself called “devastating” — a remark many interpreted as unintentionally ironic, given the context.
The announcement comes as humanitarian needs continue to soar across conflict zones and fragile states, including Sudan, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Myanmar. Yemen, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Somalia, and Syria have also reached crisis levels, with aid groups warning of worsening instability.
Tom Fletcher, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said, “The fall in resources would not only impact humanitarian aid, but also cripple early warning systems for human rights violations and erode protections for the most vulnerable communities.”
He added that the moment is emboldening regimes hostile to civil liberties. “Only dictators and authoritarians are comforted right now,” he said.
Tens of millions of people now face humanitarian catastrophe, but donor governments continue to cite global economic insecurity to justify inaction. Fletcher criticized what he described as complicity through passivity.
“We have been forced into a triage of human survival,” he 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.” “Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices,” he concluded.
The consequences of the cuts are already being felt. Vaccination campaigns, emergency aid, and the distribution of antiretroviral drugs for HIV are facing major setbacks.
A joint report released by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) identified worsening hunger in 13 global hotspots. The report warns that several countries “are already facing famine, at risk of famine or confronted with catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity.”
For governments that have rolled back their foreign aid budgets, Fletcher issued a stark reminder: “Cutting funding for those in greatest need is not something to boast about… The impact of aid cuts is that millions die.”
