EditTriage of survival: UN slashes humanitarian aid amid unprecedented global funding collapse
The withdrawal of key donors, led by the U.S., which used to provide up to 70% of aid in some regions, has triggered a seismic shift
The United Nations has launched an extraordinary scaled-down version of its Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) for 2025, cutting its appeal from $44 billion to $29 billion – its most severe funding reduction to date. The move, driven by a collapse in donor support, signals a pivotal moment for international humanitarian action.
“We have been forced to triage human survival,” said Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. “The math is brutal, and the consequences are heartbreaking.”
Six months into 2025, the UN has received only 13% of the funding it requested, with just $5.6 billion secured. This shortfall is already having catastrophic effects, as armed conflict, natural disasters, and displacement reach historic levels. Nearly 300 million people urgently need humanitarian assistance and protection.
From prioritisation to abandonment
The withdrawal of key donors – led by the United States, which previously provided up to 70% of aid in some regions, has triggered a seismic shift. Entire aid programmes are being suspended, downsized or shuttered. At least 79 million people in crisis will no longer be reached with lifesaving support, the UN data show.
Fletcher warned that this is not a call for charity but one for global responsibility: “All we’re asking for is 1% of what was spent on war last year. What has changed is not the level of need – it’s that the world has turned away.”
Global fallout: from Sudan to Syria, Gaza to Colombia
In conflict zones from Gaza to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the consequences are dire. In Gaza, one in three community kitchens has already closed. In DRC, over one million people have been displaced in 2025 alone, and 250,000 children will miss out on gender-based violence (GBV) prevention. In Syria, hospitals serving more than 200,000 people are on the brink of closure.
The collapse of humanitarian services is leaving communities exposed. In Afghanistan, 420 health facilities have shut down, denying primary care to 3 million people. In Uganda, food rations for 82% of refugees have been cut to a quarter of their original value.
Nutrition services have been crippled, with 14 million children at risk of malnutrition, including 2.4 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Over 1.8 million children are projected to lose access to education.
Displacement, violence, and natural disasters converge
Forced displacement reached a record 123.2 million people globally in 2024, with 83.4 million displaced within their own countries. In Colombia’s Catatumbo region, more than 50,000 people were displaced in two weeks. In Haiti, displacement due to violence rose by 24% in six months.
Sexual violence is rampant: in the DRC, a child is raped every 30 minutes. In Sudan, millions, mostly women and girls, face heightened risk of GBV. The global food security crisis is deepening, with nearly 300 million people facing acute hunger.
Climate crises are compounding the collapse. Earthquakes in Myanmar killed 3,800 and injured 51,000. In Mozambique, two cyclones displaced hundreds of thousands. With 2024 confirmed as the hottest year on record, extreme weather emergencies are likely to intensify.
The frontlines of humanitarian attrition
Budget cuts are hitting the frontlines. Humanitarian staff are being laid off en masse – at least 12,000 contracts have been terminated and 22 organizations have shut down offices. Women- and refugee-led organizations are disproportionately affected.
Essential aid mechanisms – like cash and voucher assistance, are vanishing. In Ukraine, cash support for people fleeing conflict has been reduced. In Bangladesh, one million Rohingya refugees face halved food rations. In Lebanon, tens of thousands risk losing basic cash support.
The effects ripple through sectors. Maternal and infant mortality are expected to rise as sexual and reproductive health services disappear. Safe spaces for women are closing. Emergency shelters are unavailable for newly displaced families in Chad, Colombia, and Uganda.
A breaking point
“We are doing less with less,” Fletcher said. “But make no mistake, needs have not gone down. They have skyrocketed.”
This “hyper-prioritised” humanitarian plan does not replace the original Global Humanitarian Overview. Instead, it is a last-ditch strategy to save as many lives as possible with what little remains.
In Fletcher’s words, “This is a call to action – not a plea for charity. Inaction is not inevitable. It is a choice. And one we can refuse to make.”
A general view over rows of tents housing internally displaced Palestinians along the waterfront in Gaza, 2 June 2025. According to the UN, at least 1.9 million people (or nine in ten people) across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced, including people who have been repeatedly displaced. Since October 2023, only about 11 percent of the Gaza Strip has not been placed under Israeli-issued evacuation orders, the UN aid coordination office OCHA said. [EPA/HAITHAM IMAD]
Updated: June 17, 2025 - 05:42
