UN cuts aid appeal after donors slash budgets
[GENEVA] The United Nations on Monday (Jun 16) slashed its aid appeal to donors by over a third, saying it was now seeking US$29 billion to support 114 million people amid what it described as the deepest funding cuts ever.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said that the scale of donor retrenchment had been so large that it has been 'forced into a triage of human survival.'
'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,' he said.
In a statement, the UN said its request prioritises, but does not replace, an earlier appeal for over US$47 billion launched in Dec 2024 – before US President Donald Trump announced major cuts to foreign aid that he has himself described as 'devastating'.
Other Western governments, which have previously accounted for the lion's share of humanitarian budgets, are also retrenching as they instead prioritise defence spending.
The previous UN humanitarian appeal was less than 13% funded nearly halfway through the year, the UN said.
'All we ask is one per cent of what you chose to spend last year on war,' said Fletcher. '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,' he said. REUTERS
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