UN taps into emergency fund to release $110 million in aid following global cuts by donors

The United Nations has allocated $110 million from its emergency fund to address overlooked crises worldwide following significant aid cuts from donors like the United States and Britain.

The UN revealed that humanitarian funding had already been declining before the US' temporary suspension of foreign aid announced in January, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media. 

According to the organization's predictions, aid spendings will reach an all-time low this year which is why the UN is appealing for $45 billion in 2025 to support around 185 million people fleeing conflict and facing starvation. The newly released funds from the Central Emergency Response Fund will be directed toward underfunded and neglected crises across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, according to a UN statement.

About a third of the money will support Sudan, where nearly two years of civil war have led to mass displacement and a hunger crisis, as well as neighboring Chad, which has taken in over a million Sudanese refugees. Last month, the Trump administration announced the cancellation of nearly 10,000 foreign aid grants and contracts worth almost $60 billion after internal reviewing, which effectively ending about 90 per cent of the US Agency for International Development's (USAID) global programs. 

Other donors, including Britain, have also reduced aid as governments face increasing pressure to prioritize defense spending. Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that nevertheless only 5 per cent of the needed funds have been secured so far.   

By Nazrin Sadigova