The United Nations has scaled back its global humanitarian plan for 2025, now seeking $29 billion in funding.
This comes as the agency’s top donor, the United States, reduced foreign aid spending following Donald Trump’s return to office in January 2025, prompting the UN to cut down on its humanitarian expenditures.
The UN search for funds is also coming at the time Iran and Israel are pounding each other with fears of full-scale war.
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced the revised “hyper-prioritized” appeal, which is the agency’s deepest funding cut to date.
The new target of $29 billion is a sharp reduction from the $44 billion initially requested in December.
Commenting on the difficult decisions, Tom Fletcher, OCHA chief said,
“We have been forced into a triage of human survival. All we ask is one percent of what you chose to spend 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.”
According to the UN, only $5.6 billion of the original $44 billion requested has been received so far, just 13% of the initial budget.
The original plan aimed to cover more than 70 countries and assist about 190 million vulnerable people. However, with the funding cut, the agency says it will no longer be able to support as many people in need.
Fletcher added that support will now be prioritised for those in most urgent need, as the agency focuses on delivering life-saving aid where it’s most important.
