'Deepest' budget cuts force UN to scale back humanitarian aid

The United Nations announced on Monday a drastic reduction in its global humanitarian aid operations, attributing the unprecedented cutbacks to the "deepest funding cuts ever." 

The UN's humanitarian agency is now seeking $29 billion in funding, a significant decrease from the $44 billion it requested in December, reflecting a "hyper-prioritised" appeal.

The severe financial shortfall comes as the United States, traditionally the world's leading donor, has heavily slashed its foreign aid since President Donald Trump assumed office in January. This policy shift has sent shockwaves through the global humanitarian sector, causing considerable disruption to vital programs worldwide.

Compounding the crisis, other donor countries have also reduced their contributions, citing an uncertain global economic outlook. 

"Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices," Tom Fletcher, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said in a statement.

"All we ask is 1% 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."

With 2025 nearly halfway through, the UN has received only $5.6 billion out of the $44 billion, a mere 13%, that it had requested while facing surging crises in Sudan, the Middle East, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Myanmar, among others.

"We have been forced into a triage of human survival," Fletcher 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."

Under the new guidelines, OCHA aid will be directed so that it can "reach the people and places facing the most urgent needs" and support will be directed "on the planning already done for the 2025... This will ensure that limited resources are directed where they can do the most good — as quickly as possible," the statement said.