Washington overhauls UN aid with leaner $2b pledge for 2026

In a move that signals a seismic shift in global diplomacy, the United States on Monday committed an initial $2 billion for United Nations humanitarian aid in 2026. While the pledge cements Washington’s role as a primary donor, the figure represents a stark decline from previous years, accompanied by a blunt ultimatum to international agencies to reform their operations.

The announcement was made at the U.S. mission in Geneva alongside UN aid chief Tom Fletcher. It marks a fundamental departure from traditional funding models: rather than distributing money to individual agencies, the U.S. will now funnel contributions through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to ensure tighter oversight.

The U.S. strategy aligns with OCHA’s “Humanitarian Reset,” a program launched earlier this year to strip away bureaucracy. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that the era of open-ended, multi-agency funding is coming to an end.

Writing on X, Rubio stated: “This new model will better share the burden of UN humanitarian work with other developed countries and will require the UN to cut bloat, remove duplication, and commit to powerful new impact, accountability and oversight mechanisms.”

Jeremy Lewin, the senior U.S. official for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs, and religious freedom, characterized the $2 billion as a starting point.

“It is an initial anchor commitment. There are other countries that we will add, as we continue to get more funding into this mechanism,” Lewin told reporters.

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The funding is earmarked for 17 specific countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, Sudan, and Ukraine. However, the list noticeably excludes several high-profile crisis zones:

– Afghanistan & Yemen: Omitted due to security protocols. Lewin stressed the necessity to “prevent diversion to the Taliban and other US-designated foreign terrorist organisations.”
– Gaza: Currently absent from the primary list, though Lewin noted a future focus on the territory as President Donald Trump’s peace initiatives with Israel progress.

The State Department did not mince words regarding the future of UN agencies that fail to modernize. A formal statement from the department warned: “Individual UN agencies will need to adapt, shrink, or die.”

This fiscal tightening is reflected in recent data. While the U.S. remained the world’s top donor in 2025, its $2.7 billion contribution was a massive drop from the $11 billion provided in 2023/2024 and the $14 billion peak in 2022.

Despite the reduced figures and harsh rhetoric, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher welcomed the commitment as a vital lifeline in a precarious era.

“The US has long been the world’s humanitarian superpower. Hundreds of millions of people are alive today because of American generosity — and many millions more will survive in 2026 because of this landmark investment in humanity,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher, who recently requested $23 billion to assist 87 million people globally, acknowledged that the UN must change its DNA to survive the current political climate.

“We are making humanitarian action faster, smarter and closer to the people on the front lines of emergencies,” he added, promising that U.S. taxpayers would see exactly how their contributions save lives.

The UN estimates that 240 million people worldwide currently require emergency assistance due to conflict, disease, and natural disasters. However, the 2025 appeal for $45 billion was only 25% funded, marking a decade-low for global aid. As other developed nations also “tighten their belts,” the humanitarian sector faces its most significant existential challenge in decades.

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