The United States on Monday announced a US$2 billion pledge for UN humanitarian aid as President Donald Trump’s administration slashed US foreign aid and warned United Nations agencies that they must “adapt, shrink or die” during the new financial crisis.
The money is a small fraction of what the US has given in the past but represents what the administration believes is still a significant amount that will maintain America’s status as the world’s largest donor of humanitarian aid.
“This new model will better share the burden of the UN’s aid work with other developed countries and will require the UN to cut the belly, eliminate duplication, and commit to new strong impact, accountability and monitoring mechanisms,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio on social media.
The pledge creates an umbrella fund from which to send money to agencies and priorities, which is an important part of the US’s demands for radical reforms at the UN that have scared many humanitarian workers and led to major cuts in programs and services.
$2 billion is only a fraction of US humanitarian funding for UN-coordinated programs, which have reached $17 billion annually in recent years, according to UN data. US officials say only $8 billion to $10 billion of that has been voluntary contributions. The United States also pays billions in annual dues related to its UN membership.
“The piggy bank is not open to organizations that just want to go back to the old system,” said Jeremy Lewin, the State Department official in charge of foreign aid, at a press conference on Monday in Geneva. “President Trump has made it clear that the plan is dead.”
The State Department said “UN organizations will need to adapt, shrink, or die.” Critics say the cuts in Western aid have been counterproductive, driven millions into starvation, displacement or disease, and undermined US soft power around the world.
The move caps a difficult year for many UN agencies, including its refugee, migrant and food aid agencies. The Trump administration has already cut billions in US foreign aid, prompting agencies to cut spending, aid projects and thousands of jobs. Other traditional Western donors have reduced emissions, too.
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The US pledge for the aid programs of the United Nations – the world’s leading provider of humanitarian aid and the largest recipient of US aid money – begins an agreement with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, headed by Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat and government official.
Fletcher, who has spent the last year persuading US officials not to completely abandon UN funding, appeared optimistic when the agreement was signed in Geneva.
“It is a very important and historic contribution. And last month, I would have expected that the amount would have been zero,” he told reporters. “So I think, before worrying about what we don’t have, I’d like to look at the millions of people whose lives will be saved, whose lives will be better because of this donation, and start there.”
Even as the US withdraws its aid contributions, needs have increased around the world: Famine has been recorded this year in the conflict-ridden parts of Sudan and Gaza, and floods, droughts and natural disasters that many scientists attribute to climate change have claimed many lives or driven thousands from their homes.
The cuts will have a major impact on UN agencies such as the International Organization for Migration, the World Food Program and the refugee agency UNHCR. They have already received billions less from the US this year than under the annual allocation from the Biden administration – or even during Trump’s first term.
Now, the idea is that Fletcher’s office – which aims to improve efficiency – will be a funnel for US and other aid funds that can be redirected to those organizations, rather than dispersing US contributions to various individual appeals for aid.
Asked by reporters if the US language of “adapt or die” bothered him, Fletcher said, “If the choice is to adapt or die, I choose to adapt.”
The US wants aid integration
US officials say the $2 billion is the initial funding to help fund OCHA’s annual funding request. Fletcher, noting the improved aid situation, has already scaled back the request this year. Other traditional UN donors such as Britain, France, Germany and Japan have reduced aid allocations and are demanding changes this year.
“This restructuring of United Nations aid should deliver more aid with fewer tax dollars – providing more focused, results-driven aid consistent with US foreign policy,” said US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz.
At its core, the reforms will help establish a pool of funds that can be directed to specific problems or countries in need. 17 countries will be targeted initially, including Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Syria and Ukraine.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also welcomed the announcement, saying “every dollar counts.”
Two of the world’s most desperate countries, Afghanistan and Yemen, are not included, and US officials have cited the diversion of aid to the Taliban and Houthi rebels as concerns about resuming donations.
Also not mentioned on the list are the Palestinian territories, which officials say will be paid for with money from Trump’s incomplete Gaza peace plan.
The UN project, which has been months in the making, stems from Trump’s long-term view that the world body has great promise but has failed to fulfill it and – in his eyes – has strayed too far from its original mission of saving lives while undermining American interests, promoting radical ideas and encouraging wasteful, unaccountable spending.
“No one wants to be a recipient of aid. No one wants to live in a UNHCR camp because they have been displaced by conflict,” said Lewin. “So the best thing we can do is reduce costs, and President Trump sees this and that’s why he’s the president of peace, ending conflicts and allowing communities to return to peace and prosperity.”
Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed from New York.
