The United States has pledged an initial $2 billion for United Nations humanitarian operations in 2026, a sharp reduction from previous years, as Washington moves to overhaul how it funds global aid and urges UN agencies to “adapt, shrink or die.”
The pledge was announced on Monday at the US mission in Geneva alongside UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher. Under the new approach, US funding will no longer be channelled directly to individual UN agencies but routed through the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which Fletcher heads.
The shift forms part of OCHA’s “Humanitarian Reset” initiative, launched earlier this year to improve efficiency, accountability and oversight across the UN aid system.
US contributions will initially be allocated to 17 countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, Sudan and Ukraine. A portion will also go to the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund, which provides rapid assistance during sudden or escalating crises.
“It is an initial anchor commitment,” said Jeremy Lewin, the senior US official for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom. “There are other countries that we will add, as we continue to get more funding into this mechanism.”
Several major crisis zones were not included in the first tranche. Yemen and Afghanistan were excluded over concerns about aid diversion to the Taliban and other US-designated terrorist groups, Lewin said. Gaza was also absent, though he indicated that support for the territory could increase as US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire initiative with Israel advances.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the funding shift marked a “new model” for UN humanitarian financing.
“This new model will better share the burden of UN humanitarian work with other developed countries and will require the UN to cut bloat, remove duplication, and commit to powerful new impact, accountability and oversight mechanisms,” Rubio said in a post on X.
Lewin also challenged other donor countries to match or exceed US contributions.
According to UN data, the United States remained the world’s largest humanitarian donor in 2025, but its funding fell sharply to $2.7 billion — down from about $11 billion in both 2023 and 2024, and more than $14 billion in 2022. Other major donors have similarly reduced aid budgets, triggering widespread disruption across the global humanitarian sector.
“Individual UN agencies will need to adapt, shrink, or die,” a US State Department statement said.
Fletcher described the US pledge as “extraordinary,” noting Washington’s long-standing role in global humanitarian response.
“The US has long been the world’s humanitarian superpower,” he said. “Hundreds of millions of people are alive today because of American generosity — and many millions more will survive in 2026 because of this landmark investment in humanity.”
Fletcher said reforms were already under way to ensure faster and more transparent aid delivery. “We are making humanitarian action faster, smarter and closer to the people on the front lines of emergencies,” he said, adding that US taxpayers would be able to see how their funds were saving lives.
Earlier this month, Fletcher launched the UN’s Global Humanitarian Appeal for 2026, seeking $23 billion to assist 87 million people — a significant reduction from previous appeals as the organisation adapts to funding constraints following Trump’s return to the White House.
The UN has stressed that the smaller appeal does not reflect a reduction in need. It estimates that about 240 million people worldwide require emergency assistance due to conflict, disease outbreaks, natural disasters and climate change.
In 2025, the UN’s $45 billion appeal was funded to just $12 billion — the lowest level in a decade — allowing aid agencies to reach 98 million people, 25 million fewer than the year before.
