The UN’s top aid chief launched an emergency funding appeal Monday, warning that brutal budget cuts are forcing aid agencies to choose who lives and dies. The “hyper-prioritized” appeal seeks $29 billion to help 114 million people facing life-threatening crises worldwide, according to a statement from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The appeal comes as the humanitarian sector faces its worst funding crisis ever. The original global plan aimed to help nearly 180 million people with $44 billion, but donors have provided just $5.6 billion so far this year – less than 13% of what’s needed.
Aid agencies now must focus only on areas facing extreme or catastrophic conditions, ranked level 4 or 5 on the severity scale. “We have been forced into a triage of human survival,” said Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator. “The math is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking. Too many people will not get the support they need.”
The new plan covers more than 70 countries and keeps protection work at its core. Aid groups will prioritize cash assistance where possible, letting people choose what they need most while maintaining their dignity.
Fletcher called the cuts a test of global responsibility, asking for just 1% of what governments spent on war last year to save millions of lives.
