UN cuts 2026 humanitarian appeal to $23 billion amid record global crises

The United Nations has cut its 2026 humanitarian aid request to $23 billion, about half of what it sought in 2025, as donor support continues to fall.

This funding is the immediate priority of its $33 billion Global Humanitarian Overview 2026 budget, which aims to provide lifesaving support to millions of people affected by war, climate disasters, epidemics, and crop failures.

The UN disclosed this on Monday while launching the 2026 Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO).

The reduced appeal comes amid record humanitarian needs worldwide, including rising hunger, mass displacement, and deadly attacks against aid workers, forcing the UN to focus only on the most urgent cases.

What they are saying

The UN said that the $23 billion request will prioritise 87 million people whose lives are most at risk, even though the GHO notes that 135 million people across 50 countries need assistance.

“This appeal sets out where we need to focus our collective energy first: life by life,” said UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher.

According to Reuters, Tom Fletcher said that severe funding cuts are forcing the UN to make difficult decisions, leaving aid workers overstretched, underfunded, and operating in dangerous conditions with limited resources.

“The cuts ultimately are forcing us into these tough, tough, brutal choices that we’re having to make. We are overstretched, underfunded, and under attack.  

And we drive the ambulance towards the fire, on your behalf. But we are also now being asked to put the fire out. And there is not enough water in the tank. And we’re being shot at,” he said.

Last year, the U.N. sought some $47 billion for 2025, a figure that was later pared back drastically as the scale of aid cuts by U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as other top Western donors such as Germany, began to emerge.

“The 2025 appeal received only $12 billion, the lowest funding in a decade. Programmes to protect women and girls were slashed, and hundreds of aid organizations shut. And over 380 aid workers were killed, the highest on record,” Mr. Fletcher recalled

More details 

Next year’s $23 billion plan identifies 87 million people deemed as priority cases whose lives are on the line. The largest single appeal is $4.1 billion for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, mainly Gaza, where nearly all 2.3 million residents are dependent on aid following a two-year conflict.

Sudan follows, with $2.9 billion requested to assist 20 million people displaced within the country and another $2 billion for seven million Sudanese who have fled abroad.

Syria’s plan is $2.8 billion to support 8.6 million people, making it the largest regional plan.

What you should know 

Even with the 2026 plan, humanitarian agencies warn that millions of people will go without aid because of donor cuts and escalating global crises. The UN highlighted that past funding shortfalls led to rising hunger and overstretched health systems, with famines affecting parts of Sudan and Gaza.

The International Organization for Migration has also reduced its 2026 funding request to $4.7 billion to support 41 million displaced people, down from $8.2 billion last year, which aimed to help 101 million people. So far, it has secured $1.3 billion.

The agency has been forced to lay off thousands of staff this year as it grapples with major funding cuts

While the United States remains the largest donor, its share of UN humanitarian funding fell from over one-third in previous years to just 15.6 percent in 2025.

The UN is urging countries to step up protection for humanitarians to prevent further deterioration of conditions worldwide.

UN cuts 2026 humanitarian appeal to $23 billion amid record global crises  - Nairametrics