UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will cut 20 percent of its staff as it faces a shortfall of $58 million, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher has told staff after OCHA’s largest donor — the United States — cut funding.
“OCHA currently has a workforce of around 2,600 staff in over 60 countries. The funding shortfall means we are looking to regroup to an organization of around 2,100 staff in fewer locations,” Fletcher wrote in a note to staff on Thursday.
OCHA works to mobilize aid, share information, support aid efforts, and advocate for those in need during a crisis. It relies heavily on voluntary contributions.
“The US alone has been the largest humanitarian donor for decades, and the biggest contributor to OCHA’s program budget,” Fletcher said, noting that its annual contribution of $63 million would have accounted for 20 percent of OCHA’s extrabudgetary resources in 2025.
Since returning to office in January for a second term, US President Donald Trump’s administration has slashed billions of dollars in foreign assistance in a review that aimed to ensure programs align with his “America First” foreign policy.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month announced a new initiative to improve efficiency and cut costs as the world body turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis.
Fletcher said OCHA would “focus more of our resources in the countries where we work,” but would work in fewer places.
“OCHA will scale back our presence and operations in Cameroon, Colombia, Eritrea, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Gaziantep (in Turkiye) and Zimbabwe,” Fletcher said.
“As we all know, these exercises are driven by funding cuts announced by Member States and not by a reduction of needs,” he said. “Humanitarian needs are on the rise and have perhaps never been higher, driven by conflicts, climate crises, disease, and the lack of respect of international humanitarian law.”
UN to cut 20 percent of humanitarian staff amid funding shortfall, scale back operations in Pakistan
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UN to cut 20 percent of humanitarian staff amid funding shortfall, scale back operations in Pakistan
- UN aid chief Tom Fletcher cites a $58 million shortfall after major funding cuts by the US
- Fletcher says the agency will focus its resources by operating in fewer locations than before
Pakistan military says 12 militants killed in counter-terror operations in southwest
- Pakistan military says “Indian-sponsored terrorists” were killed in southwestern Kalat district on Dec. 6
- Development takes place day after military said it gunned down five militants in Balochistan’s Dera Bugti area
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces killed 12 “Indian-sponsored terrorists” in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military’s media wing said on Sunday, vowing to purge “terrorism” from the country.
The security operation was carried out in Balochistan’s Kalat district on Dec. 6, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in a statement. It said the militants belonged to Indian proxy “Fitna al Hindustan.”
The military uses this term to describe ethnic Baloch militant groups who demand independence from Pakistan. Islamabad accuses New Delhi of arming and funding these separatist groups, charges India has always denied.
“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” the ISPR said.
The military said that it was carrying out sanitization operations in the area to eliminate other “terrorists,” vowing it will continue with its relentless counter-terror campaign to purge militancy.
The development took place a day after the Pakistan military said it had gunned down 14 militants in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by since yet its most backward by almost all social and economic indicators, has suffered from a bloody separatist insurgency for decades.
The most ethnic Baloch militant group that has mounted attacks against law enforcement and civilians in the area is the Balochistan Liberation Army.
These militant outfits accuse the military and federal government of denying the local Baloch population a share in the province’s mineral wealth, charges Islamabad denies.
