As a result, the United Nations will have to ‘hyperprioize’ its plans to help 114 million people worldwide; Initial project covered 180 million vulnerable people
A It announced on Monday that it will drastically reduce its aid programs this year after “the worst financial cuts” ever suffered by the humanitarian sector, largely due to the US decision to reduce their donations to the minimum. The new aid plan has a budget of US $ 29 billion, well below $ 44 billion requested by the UN to 2025. As a result, the UN will have to “hyperprioize” its plans to help 114 million people worldwide, a statement from the UN office for coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA). The initial plan was to help “180 million vulnerable people.”
According to OCHA, the UN managed to raise only $ 5.6 billion (R $ 31.16 billion) of the US $ 44 billion requested by mid -year, or 13% of the total, insufficient to face humanitarian crises in Sudan, Gaza Strip, Congo Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Ukraine. United States President Donald Trump’s decision to end or reduce American financial assistance abroad affects the entire global sector of humanitarian aid. For many years, the country was the largest donor to help with development. The cuts announced by They will have significant consequences for emergency aid, vaccination campaigns and drug distribution against AIDS, among other programs.
American funds represented a significant portion of the budgets of some UN agencies and many NGOs, losses impossible to compensate in a few weeks or months. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lamented the decision that could cost the lives of millions of people. The World Food Program (PMA), another UN agency, warned in March to an “unprecedented crisis” due to a 40% cut in its funding to 2025.
“Without financing and access we cannot save lives,” says Cindy McCain, director of PMA. The PMA, together with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), published on Monday a new list that cites Sudan, Gaza, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali as areas of the world at the immediate risk of hunger.
“Brutal decisions”
Cortes affect humanitarian efforts around the world, such as combating Bangladesh tuberculosis and helping Colombia’s largest indigenous field of indigenous and migrants in the Guajira Desert, where, due to lack of funding, only three of the existing NGOs operated by 2024. In addition to the United States, other countries reduced their donations in a difficult economic context.
“We have been forced to screen for human survival,” said Tom Fletcher, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Services Coordinator. “The numbers are cruel and the consequences are devastating. Many people will not receive the help they need, but we will save as much as possible with the resources they give us,” he added. To make as much as possible with a smaller budget, the UN will establish a scale that classifies the severity of humanitarian needs. Areas classified as level 4 or 5, ie conditions considered extreme or catastrophic, will have priority. “Brutal cuts in the budget oblige us to make brutal choices,” Fletcher admitted.
*With information from AFP
