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UN warns U.S. funding cuts will suspend critical humanitarian programs worldwide
Summary
The United Nations Secretary-General said recent U.S. funding cuts will force suspension or reduction of humanitarian and development programs across multiple countries, leaving millions without services.
The Secretary-General, United Nations, said in a statement to the media that recent cuts in funding from the United States will suspend or sharply reduce a wide range of United Nations humanitarian and development programs, leaving millions of vulnerable people without essential services.
The statement said the reductions affect "life saving humanitarian aid to support to vulnerable communities recovering from war or natural disasters," programs to fight terrorism and illicit drug trafficking, and disease-control efforts. "The consequences will be especially devastating for vulnerable people around the world," the Secretary-General said.
He provided specific examples of the expected impacts. In Afghanistan, "more than 9,000,000 people will miss out on health and protection services with hundreds of mobile health teams and other services suspended." In northeast Syria, where the statement said 2,500,000 people need assistance, "the absence of US funding means programs are leaving large populations even more vulnerable." The statement also said cash-based programming in Ukraine that reached about 1,000,000 people in 2024 has been suspended in key regions and that funding has run out for programs in South Sudan supporting people who fled conflict in neighboring Sudan.
The Secretary-General said the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime will be forced to stop many counter-narcotics programs, including work "fighting the fentanyl crisis," and that activities against human trafficking will be dramatically reduced. He also said funding for programs combating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and cholera has stopped.
"The generosity and compassion of the American people have not only saved lives, built peace, and improved the state of the world. They have contributed to the stability and prosperity that Americans depend on," the Secretary-General said, expressing gratitude for decades of U.S. support while urging reconsideration of the cuts.
The statement said all United Nations agencies stand ready to provide information and justification for their projects, and that humanitarian coordinators in the field are "urgently updating strategies on how to protect as much life saving work as possible." It added that the Inter-Agency Standing Committee has agreed on a plan for efficiency and prioritization and that the U.N. will pursue efforts to diversify its donor base while trying to keep lifesaving operations running.
No questions were taken at the briefing, and no formal commitments or reversals of funding were announced on the record.
