Tom Fletcher, the United Nations Humanitarian Chief, has said that the United States’ financial support of the Humanitarian Reset is not a secret deal. OCHA encouraged the U.S. to look at the Global Humanitarian Overview, and the U.S. decided which of the identified needs it would fund.
America’s $2B UN Donation Deal
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has clarified in a LinkedIn publication by its Under-Secretary-General, Tom Fletcher, that the United States donation to the U.N. was announced in a press conference. In the latest edition of the publication tagged Humanifesto, Fletcher stated that the money was channeled through pooled funds in 17 countries and the Central Emergency Response Fund.
While OCHA encouraged the United States to look at the crises identified in its annual report that assesses worldwide Humanitarian needs, the U.S. picked the 17 countries that it wished to fund. Ninety percent of the U.S. donation was earmarked to countries with hyper-prioritised needs as defined by the humanitarian community in the Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO).
The countries include: Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Sudan, DR Congo, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Chad, Mozambique, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Ukraine, Syria, Myanmar, and Bangladesh
“It was negotiated directly with the donor (as is always the case) in confidence, as leaks might have undermined the prospects of agreement, and the aid sector leaks. We will continue to communicate the details,” read the publication shared by Fletcher.
The humanitarian chief, however, clarified that the deal does not mean that the U.N. will continue to agree with the United States on everything, stating that it regrets the U.S. decision to leave certain U.N. agencies. While the donation is a significant cut from initial donations, the U.S. has suggested more contributions in 2026, given there is evidence of more efficient aid delivery.
Aid Cuts by the U.S. Government
Over the past year, the U.S. foreign policy has undergone a dramatic overhaul under the government of Donald Trump. The closure of its major aid program has left massive gaps in how various countries and organisations now battle with crises.
The United States has also exited about 66 international organisations, with 31 of them being within the United Nations. The major cut of U.S. funding has, however, left the U.N. no choice but to adopt cost-cutting measures.
While the latest donation of $2B is a huge reduction of the U.S. contribution to aid, the money is channeled to keep basic services from collapsing in these countries. However, countries with high-profile cases, such as Afghanistan and Yemen, were left out.
