US pledges $2bn in new UN model for delivery of humanitarian assistance | US foreign policy
The United States on Monday pledged $2 billion in aid next year to tens of millions of people facing hunger and disease in more than a dozen countries; Part of that, he said, is a new mechanism to deliver life-saving aid in the wake of the Trump administration’s massive foreign aid cuts.
The US has cut aid spending this year, and major western donors such as Germany have also cut aid as they look to increase defense spending, leading to a severe funding shortage for the UN. The State Department said on Monday that billions of dollars in aid pledged by Washington would be overseen by the U.N. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, which it described as the new aid model agreed with the U.N. that aims to make aid financing and distribution more efficient and increase accountability for the spending of funds.
UN data shows total US humanitarian contributions to the UN falling to about $3.38 billion in 2025, about 14.8% of the global total. This is down sharply from $14.1 billion the previous year, reaching $17.2 billion in 2022.
In a statement made in Geneva, State Department and UN officials said that the USA and the UN will sign 17 memorandums of understanding with countries identified by the USA as priority countries.
However, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said some areas that are a priority for the UN, including Yemen, Afghanistan and Gaza, will not receive US funding under the new mechanism, adding that the UN will seek support from other donors to fund them.
Jeremy Lewin, the State Department secretary responsible for foreign aid, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom, said other countries would be added as more money is contributed to the mechanism.
“These are some countries where I think our interests align… But over time, we will thoughtfully add other countries,” Lewin said.
The UN spokesman said Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sudan were among the countries included in Monday’s package.
But Lewin said Gaza, where aid agencies have repeatedly said much more aid is needed to reach the small and populous region, was not included in Monday’s announcement and will instead be addressed on a separate track.
He said that the US had approved over $300m after Donald Trump’s administration helped broker a Gaza ceasefire “to give pipeline to the UN agencies”, adding that the US will be working to get additional donors for a pooled mechanism under a separate track for Gaza under phase two of the deal.
Donors will have “specific requirements” about which countries and what types of studies should be funded, Fletcher said.
“But humanitarian action at the other end of this must always be impartial, impartial and independent, and there is nothing in the work we do together in this partnership that undermines those principles,” he said.
Lewin said the focus of funding would be on life-saving aid, while funding for climate-related and other projects that are not priorities for the administration would be cut. In early December, the United Nations launched a $23 billion aid appeal in 2026 to reach 87 million people at risk; this was half the $47 billion sought for 2025; This reflects declining donor support despite record global needs.
Fletcher acknowledged it had been a difficult year for the UN following a series of cuts as humanitarian crises escalated in war-torn countries such as Sudan, but said he was optimistic following the US pledge.
“Millions of lives will be saved in 17 countries,” Fletcher said.
