The year 2026 may be a bleak period for the United Nations (UN) and its affiliated agencies as many wealthy Western nations, particularly the United States, have massively cut their donations, leaving the international organisation to recalibrate its priority to nations in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
From $17 billion down to just $2 billion
The administration of US President Donald Trump has announced that his country will only allocate $2 billion to the UN as its contribution to the international organisation’s humanitarian program, a steep decline from Washington’s usual $10 billion to $17 billion allocation in the past.
According to Trump, the move was intended to push the UN to “adapt” to the current financial situation.
Trump has continued to call out the UN for its misaligned goals that have led to veering away from its initial missions, an issue he initially raised during his speech at the General Assembly in New York City.
He then urged the UN for a “consolidated leadership authority” to bring back the holistic trust of the US that the international organisation remain steadfast on its “humanistic functions” in modern times.
The Republican leader pointed out how the UN and its agencies have been misusing the contributions and donations of many nations, an allegation that the UN has profusely denied, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs chief Tom Fletcher saying that his agency has been “overstretched, underfunded and under attack.”
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Millions of lives at risk
Despite maintaining its billion dollars’ worth of allocations, the massive cut on the part of the US will without doubt affect the humanitarian programs of the UN, according to the organisation itself.
Aside from the US, the UN has also confirmed that other wealthy Western nations – the United Kingdom, France and Germany – have decided to cut their contributions as well, despite the call of the UN to raise at least $23 billion to sustain its 2026 humanitarian programs, half of what it initially announced it needed.
The $2bn contribution of the US would be used to fund programs in at least 17 nations, particularly in Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Ukraine and Syria.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees warned that the recent financial setbacks of the UN would risk up to 11 million lives. Refugees all over the world would lose supply of basic commodities, children’s education programs would potentially be halted, and health research either suspended or completely scrapped.
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