UN to halve 2026 humanitarian funding appeal amid donor cuts

The United Nations said it will significantly scale down its appeal for humanitarian funding in 2026, cutting the request to about half of what it had planned for this year, following sharp reductions in aid contributions by the United States and a number of European countries.

"The world spent $2.7 trillion on defense last year, on guns and arms. And I'm asking for less than 1 per cent of that," said UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher at a news briefing on the Global Humanitarian Overview 2026 in New York.

Fletcher said he would disclose the level of government commitments received.

"I will then aim after 87 days to share the numbers with you again of the government commitments that we have received, and answer a simple question: Did your governments show up for this plan or not? The answer to that question will define who lives and who dies," he said.

The reduction in the funding appeal reflects steep aid cuts by Western donor countries. Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, told a daily news briefing that "we saw cuts across the board."

"We saw public cuts made by the United States. We saw also significant cuts made by a number of European countries," he said in response to a question from China Daily about the reasons behind the shortfall.

The UN initially sought $47 billion for humanitarian operations in 2025 but scaled the appeal down to $29 billion in June. So far, only about $12 billion has been received, the lowest in a decade, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The funding is intended to support people affected by armed conflict, climate-related disasters, earthquakes, disease outbreaks and crop failures worldwide.

"The consequences were immediate," the humanitarian office said in a statement. "Hunger surged, health systems came under crushing strain, education fell away, mine clearance stalled and families faced blow after blow: no shelter, no cash assistance, no protection services."

According to the agency, about $4 billion of the 2026 appeal is to help 3 million people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It is seeking $2.9 billion for 20 million people in Sudan, the world's biggest displacement crisis, and $2 billion to support the 7 million Sudanese who have been forced to flee.

UN humanitarian operations are financed almost entirely through voluntary donations. Changes in major donors' budgets can have an immediate and significant impact on aid programs.

In July 2025, the US signed the Rescissions Act, canceling nearly $9 billion in previously approved funding for international assistance programs. This included about $1.3 billion from "humanitarian assistance" accounts and over $496 million from "international disaster assistance" funds, according to the White House. It has also proposed additional cuts to US foreign aid, a sharp decline in global humanitarian financing.

Major European countries like the UK, Germany, France, Netherlands and Belgium have also announced substantial cuts to their foreign aid budgets.