GENEVA/WASHINGTON, Dec 29 (Reuters) – The United States on Monday pledged $2 billion in life-saving assistance to tens of millions of people facing hunger and disease in more than a dozen countries next year, the State Department said in a statement, following major foreign aid cuts by the Trump administration in 2025.
The U.S. slashed its aid spending this year, and leading Western donors such as Germany also pared back assistance as they pivoted to increased defense spending, triggering a severe funding crunch for the United Nations.
The billions of dollars in assistance pledged by the United States on Monday will be overseen by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the State Department said.
The State Department described it as a new model of assistance agreed with the U.N. that aims to make aid funding and delivery more efficient.
U.N. data shows total U.S. humanitarian contributions to the U.N. fell to about $3.38 billion in 2025, equating to about 14.8% of the global sum. This was down sharply from $14.1 billion the prior year, and a peak of $17.2 billion in 2022.
Earlier in December, the United Nations launched a 2026 aid appeal for $23 billion to reach 87 million people at risk – half the $47 billion sought for 2025, reflecting plunging donor support despite record global needs.
U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher has said the U.N.’s humanitarian response is overstretched and underfunded, meaning “brutal choices” had to be made to prioritise those most in need.
Fletcher said in a statement on Monday the U.S. pledge was a “landmark investment in humanity”, adding that it was a vote of confidence in U.N. humanitarian reform.
(Reporting by Olivia Le PoidevinEditing by Dave Graham)
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