US pledges $1.8 billion more for UN humanitarian aid even as it’s cut foreign assistance overall

UNITED NATIONS: The Trump administration on Thursday announced $1.8 billion more toward UN humanitarian aid, saying it will be earmarked for lifesaving aid to victims of natural disasters, famine and “people who are truly in critical need” even as the US has cut foreign assistance overall.
The money will be allocated over the coming year and adds to the $2 billion that the Trump administration pledged in December. Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said at a press conference that the new funding is just “the latest step.”
The new contribution brings total US support for UN humanitarian programs to $3.8 billion across 21 countries, according to the State Department, which said the money would be prioritized for locally run projects that help the most vulnerable populations.
The department said the initial contribution delivered “life-saving assistance to 21.1 million people more quickly, more efficiently, and with greater focus on those facing the most acute humanitarian needs in less than four months.”
Still, the money is a fraction of what the US has contributed in the past and reflects what President Donald Trump’s administration believes is still a generous amount that will maintain America’s status as the world’s largest humanitarian donor.
The Trump administration has cut billions in US foreign aid, prompting UN agencies to slash spending, aid projects and thousands of jobs. Other traditional UN donors like Britain, France, Germany and Japan also have reduced aid allocations.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called his agency “overstretched, under-resourced and literally under attack” and reiterated its 2026 plan to reach 87 million of the world’s most needy at a cost of $23 billion — even though 300 million people need humanitarian help.
Before Waltz’s announcement, he said, the UN had raised about $7.4 billion. He welcomed the new US contribution and called the United States “the single largest national donor” to the United Nations.
Fletcher urged donors to reach the $23 billion goal this year, but also to provide more funding to help some of the 200 million-plus people worldwide not expected to get aid this year because of the financial crisis.
Waltz pointed to significant changes in UN humanitarian operations that the US has pushed for to cut costs, including pooling warehouses, vehicle fleets and back-office operations among UN agencies.
He slammed what he called a narrative in the media that the US has walked away from helping people in need, saying it’s “absolutely false.”
Under Trump, the US has been taking an à la carte approach to paying dues to the United Nations, picking which operations and agencies it believes align with Trump’s agenda and avoiding those that no longer serve US interests. The State Department has said that “individual UN agencies will need to adapt, shrink, or die.”
Critics say the Western aid cutbacks have been shortsighted, driven millions toward hunger, displacement or disease, and harmed US soft power around the world.
The United Nations says the US owes $2.2 billion to its regular operating budget and $1.8 billion to a separate budget for its far-flung peacekeeping operations, though the Trump administration insists it owes less.
In February, the administration paid about $160 million to the regular budget. Waltz said Thursday that “we will have an additional substantial tranche toward the regular budget coming soon.”