UN Appeals for $47 Bln in Aid to Support 190 Million People

The United Nations has issued a call for $47 billion in humanitarian aid for 2025 to assist about 190 million people displaced by conflicts and struggling with famine.

The appeal comes at a time when the UN has not even secured half of the funds requested for this year, and concerns are growing about potential cuts in funding from Western nations, including the United States, the largest donor to the organization.

The new appeal highlights an unprecedented level of suffering, according to Tom Fletcher, the UN’s new aid chief, who warned that the humanitarian situation is rapidly worsening.

The UN aims to provide relief in 32 countries next year, focusing particularly on those affected by devastating wars in Sudan, Syria, Gaza, and Ukraine.

Fletcher, who assumed his role as the head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) last month, described the global situation as one where "the world is burning, and this is how we put out the fire."

In his remarks to the press in Geneva, Fletcher emphasized the urgent need to realign global humanitarian efforts to meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations.

This new appeal for $47 billion is the fourth-largest in OCHA's history. However, Fletcher noted that it still does not address the needs of about 115 million people whom the agency realistically cannot afford to assist.

He stated that aid agencies will have to make difficult choices in prioritizing the most urgent cases, calling it a "tough decision" but necessary in the face of limited resources.

In 2024, the UN had already reduced its appeal to $46 billion from the previous year's $56 billion due to a decline in donor contributions.

Despite this reduction, the UN has only managed to secure 43% of the requested funds — one of the worst funding rates in its history.

The United States provided more than $10 billion in aid, accounting for nearly half of the total funds raised. However, as global needs continue to rise, the UN’s ability to provide sufficient aid remains strained.

Relief workers have been forced to make tough decisions, such as cutting food aid by 80% in Syria and reducing water services in cholera-ravaged Yemen.