{"id":4641,"date":"2025-12-29T08:35:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T08:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/12\/29\/us-slashes-un-humanitarian-aid-to-2bn-huge-cut-as-trump-demands-reforms\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T08:35:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T08:35:26","slug":"us-slashes-un-humanitarian-aid-to-2bn-huge-cut-as-trump-demands-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/12\/29\/us-slashes-un-humanitarian-aid-to-2bn-huge-cut-as-trump-demands-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"US slashes UN humanitarian aid to $2bn, huge cut as Trump demands reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>The $2bn pool will target specific countries or crises, down from US contributions of up to $17bn in recent years.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>The United States has said it will contribute only $2bn in United Nations humanitarian assistance \u2013 a small fraction of its traditional funding scope \u2013 as President Donald Trump\u2019s administration continues to heavily downsize its role in foreign aid.<\/p>\n<p>The reduced commitment, released on Monday, is a sharp contrast to the assistance of up to $17bn the US has provided as the UN\u2019s leading funder in recent years, about $8 -$ 10bn of which were voluntary contributions, US officials say.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/8\/overstretched-under-attack-un-cuts-2026-aid-appeal-despite-great-need\">UN faces \u2018brutal choices\u2019 as it launches 2026 aid appeal<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/10\/un-rights-office-in-survival-mode-amid-deep-funding-cuts\">UN rights office in \u2018survival mode\u2019 amid deep funding cuts<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/12\/rights-group-accuses-rsf-of-systematic-sexual-violence-in-sudans-civil-war\">Rights group accuses RSF of systematic sexual violence in Sudan\u2019s civil war<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/15\/tracking-sudans-humanitarian-crisis-by-the-numbers\">Tracking Sudan\u2019s humanitarian crisis: By the numbers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>It comes as critics have levelled sharp criticism against the US\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/6\/30\/obama-bush-decry-travesty-of-trumps-gutting-of-usaid-on-its-last-day\">dramatic aid reductions<\/a> under Trump, leading to deaths and hunger as millions around the world lose shelter, sustenance and other essential aid.<\/p>\n<p>The $2bn will create a pool of funds that can be directed at specific countries or crises, with 17 countries \u2013 including Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Syria and Ukraine \u2013 initially targeted.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/gallery\/2025\/5\/23\/afghan-returnees-face-dire-challenges-amid-deepening-humanitarian-crisis\">Afghanistan<\/a> is not included on the list, nor is Palestine, which officials say will be covered by money included in Trump\u2019s yet-to-be-completed <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/7\/hamas-and-israel-move-towards-phase-two-of-us-backed-gaza-plan\">Gaza plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"dire-outcomes-as-western-countries-pull-back-aid\">Dire outcomes as Western countries pull back aid<\/h2>\n<p>Earlier this month, the UN <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/8\/overstretched-under-attack-un-cuts-2026-aid-appeal-despite-great-need\">launched a 2026 appeal<\/a> for $23bn \u2013 half the amount it needs \u2013 as the extent of Western funding losses became clear.<\/p>\n<p>The UN had previously warned in June it would be forced to enact substantial programme reductions amid \u201cthe deepest funding cuts ever\u201d to the international aid sector.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/6\/30\/obama-bush-decry-travesty-of-trumps-gutting-of-usaid-on-its-last-day\">effectively dismantled<\/a> the US\u2019s primary platform for foreign aid, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), as his administration has called upon UN agencies to \u201cadapt, shrink or die\u201d in response to its approach.<\/p>\n<p>Other Western countries, including Germany, have also slashed funding.<\/p>\n<p>The fallout across the Middle East, South Asia and Africa has been swift.<\/p>\n<p>In July, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said more than 11 million refugees would <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/7\/18\/un-refugee-agency-warns-funding-cuts-will-leave-over-11m-without-aid\">lose access to aid<\/a>. At the time, the agency had received just 23 percent of its $10.6bn budget, and expected an overall budget of only $3.5bn by the end of the year to meet the needs of 122 million people.<\/p>\n<p>Basic services for Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh were <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/7\/11\/rohingya-refugees-in-peril-in-bangladesh-as-support-wanes-un\">at risk of collapsing<\/a>, UNHCR said, while education for more than 230,000 Rohingya children was expected to be suspended.<\/p>\n<p>The same month, the UN predicted a surge in HIV\/AIDS deaths by 2029 due to the funding withdrawals, while the French charity Doctors Without Borders said <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/7\/26\/malnutrition-in-nigeria-killed-652-children-in-past-six-months-msf-says\">more than 650 children<\/a> had died from malnutrition in Nigeria as a direct result of international aid cuts.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"control-the-spigot\">\u2018Control the spigot\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior US official told The Associated Press news agency that the $2bn is part of a broader plan that will see the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) \u201ccontrol the spigot\u201d of funds.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s administration wants to see \u201cmore consolidated leadership authority\u201d among UN agencies, the official added.<\/p>\n<p>OCHA chief Tom Fletcher has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/8\/overstretched-under-attack-un-cuts-2026-aid-appeal-despite-great-need\">previously criticised<\/a> international \u201capathy\u201d to ballooning humanitarian needs and said his agency was \u201cunder attack\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>But Fletcher appeared to praise the $2bn deal, telling the AP the US is \u201cdemonstrating that it is a humanitarian superpower\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The $2bn pool will target specific countries or crises, down from US contributions of up to $17bn in recent years. The United States has said it will contribute only $2bn in United Nations humanitarian assistance \u2013 a small fraction of its traditional funding scope \u2013 as President Donald Trump\u2019s administration continues to heavily downsize its &#8230; <a title=\"US slashes UN humanitarian aid to $2bn, huge cut as Trump demands reforms\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/12\/29\/us-slashes-un-humanitarian-aid-to-2bn-huge-cut-as-trump-demands-reforms\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about US slashes UN humanitarian aid to $2bn, huge cut as Trump demands reforms\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}