Western backing plunges: UN aid agency cuts funding appeal
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Geneva: The UN's humanitarian aid coordination office is downsizing its appeal for annual funding in 2026 after support this year, mostly from Western governments, plunged to the lowest level in a decade, the Associated Press reported.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday it was seeking USD 33 billion to help some 135 million people cope with fallout from wars, climate disasters, earthquakes, epidemics, and food shortages. This year, it took in USD 15 billion, the lowest level in a decade.
The office says next year it wants more than USD 4.1 billion to reach 3 million people in Palestinian areas, another USD 2.9 billion for Sudan — home to the world's largest displacement crisis — and USD 2.8 billion for a regional plan around Syria.
“In 2025, hunger surged. Food budgets were slashed — even as famines hit parts of Sudan and Gaza. Health systems broke apart,” said OCHA chief Tom Fletcher. “Disease outbreaks spiked. Millions went without essential food, health care and protection. Programs to protect women and girls were slashed, hundreds of aid organizations shut.”
The UN aid coordinator sought USD 47 billion for this year and aimed to help 190 million people worldwide. Because of the lower support, it and humanitarian partners reached 25 million fewer people this year than in 2024.
The donor fatigue comes as many wealthy European countries face security threats from an increasingly assertive Russia on their eastern flank and have experienced lackluster economic growth in recent years, putting new strains on government budgets and the consumers who pay taxes to sustain them.
“I know budgets are tight right now. Families everywhere are under strain,” Fletcher said. “But the world spent USD 2.7 trillion on defense last year – on guns and arms. And I'm asking for just over 1 per cent of that.”