United Nations/United States: The drastic cuts to US foreign aid under President Donald Trump’s administration have dealt a severe blow to global humanitarian work, with the head of a United Nations agency warning that 'many will die' as a result.

Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated that the world is witnessing an unprecedented crisis in humanitarian support, estimating that over 300 million people are in urgent need of assistance.

"The pace and the scale of the funding cuts that we've faced are, of course, a seismic shock to the sector," Fletcher said during a press conference.

Impact of US aid cuts

Since President Trump returned to office in January, his administration has aggressively pursued reductions in government spending, with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) bearing the brunt of these measures. After temporarily freezing all foreign aid for review, the US State Department recently announced it would terminate 83 percent of USAID contracts, causing immediate repercussions worldwide.

Fletcher warned that "many will die because that aid is drying up." He also acknowledged the UN’s dependence on US funding, stating, "We have been... over-reliant on US funding."

Global humanitarian funding crisis

In December, the UN estimated that $47.4 billion would be required for humanitarian aid in 2025, an amount only sufficient to assist 190 million people. With the loss of US funding, the reach of global relief efforts has been significantly reduced.

"Across the UN family and our partners, we're making tough choices day to day about which lives we will have to prioritise, which lives we will have to try to save," Fletcher said.

He also emphasised the long-standing impact of US aid on global relief efforts, stating, "[US funding] has saved hundreds of millions of lives."

Struggle to prioritise aid

Fletcher highlighted ongoing efforts to recalibrate UN humanitarian initiatives in light of the funding shortfall.

"I've got colleagues in Geneva right now trying to identify how we could prioritise the saving of 100 million lives and what that would cost us in the coming year," he revealed.

The cuts have sent shockwaves through the global humanitarian sector, forcing agencies to make dire decisions on the allocation of resources. 

AFP