GENEVA (AP) — The U.N.'s humanitarian aid coordination office is downsizing its appeal for annual funding in 2026 after support this year, mostly from Western governments, plunged to the lowest level in a decade.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday it was seeking $33 billion to help some 135 million people cope with fallout from wars, climate disasters, earthquakes, epidemics and food shortages. This year, it took in $15 billion, the lowest level in a decade.
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FILE - A convoy of vehicles loaded with food and other aid is en route to Sweida on the international highway in rural Daraa province, Syria, July 20, 2025, heading to the city of Busra al-Sham. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)
FILE - Palestinians grab sacks of flour from a moving truck carrying World Food Programme aid as it drives through Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)
FILE - People carry sacks and boxes of food and humanitarian aid that was unloaded from a World Food Program convoy that had been heading to Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi, File)
FILE - Women displaced from El-Fasher stand in line to receive food aid at the newly established El-Afadh camp in Al Dabbah, in Sudan's Northern State, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali, File)
The office says next year it wants more than $4.1 billion to reach 3 million people in Palestinian areas, another $2.9 billion for Sudan — home to the world's largest displacement crisis — and $2.8 billion for a regional plan around Syria.
“In 2025, hunger surged. Food budgets were slashed — even as famines hit parts of Sudan and Gaza. Health systems broke apart," said OCHA chief Tom Fletcher. "Disease outbreaks spiked. Millions went without essential food, healthcare and protection. Programs to protect women and girls were slashed, hundreds of aid organizations shut."
The U.N. aid coordinator sought $47 billion for this year and aimed to help 190 million people worldwide. Because of the lower support, it and humanitarian partners reached 25 million fewer people this year than in 2024.
“I know budgets are tight right now. Families everywhere are under strain," Fletcher said. “But the world spent $2.7 trillion on defense last year – on guns and arms. And I’m asking for just over 1% of that.”
He has called for “radical transformation” of aid by reducing bureaucracy, boosting efficiency and giving more power to local groups. Fletcher cited “very practical, constructive conversations” almost daily with the Trump administration.
“Do I want to shame the world into responding? Absolutely," Fletcher said. "But I also want to channel this sense of determination and anger that we have as humanitarians, that we will carry on delivering with what we get.”
FILE - A convoy of vehicles loaded with food and other aid is en route to Sweida on the international highway in rural Daraa province, Syria, July 20, 2025, heading to the city of Busra al-Sham. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)
FILE - Palestinians grab sacks of flour from a moving truck carrying World Food Programme aid as it drives through Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)
FILE - People carry sacks and boxes of food and humanitarian aid that was unloaded from a World Food Program convoy that had been heading to Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi, File)
FILE - Women displaced from El-Fasher stand in line to receive food aid at the newly established El-Afadh camp in Al Dabbah, in Sudan's Northern State, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali, File)
