UN, US ink $2bn humanitarian funding agreement for 17 crisis-hit countries
The United Nations and the United States on Monday formalized an agreement under which the US committed $2 billion in humanitarian assistance for global relief programmes, a move the UN’s top relief official hailed as a landmark commitment to saving lives amid escalating humanitarian needs worldwide, the UN News Centre reported.
Speaking at the signing in Geneva, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher paid tribute to humanitarian workers operating under increasingly difficult conditions, describing the past year as “a very, very tough year for everyone engaged in humanitarian action.”
Despite the challenges, he said the agreement, known as a memorandum of understanding or MOU, offered grounds for optimism.
“Millions, millions more will get that support that they so badly need,” Mr. Fletcher said, adding that the funding would help save tens of millions of lives in the year ahead.
The agreement covers 17 crisis-affected countries: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Ukraine, Haiti, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Mozambique, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, Bangladesh, Syria, Uganda, Kenya and Chad, as well as the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
Mr. Fletcher said that the funding supports the UN’s 2026 plan to reach 87 million people with emergency assistance. That plan, he said, has been “hyper-prioritized” to reduce duplication, streamline bureaucracy and maximize efficiency across the humanitarian system.
The agreement is a major vote of confidence in the ‘Humanitarian Reset’ – which Mr. Fletcher had announced in March 2025 – to deliver aid faster, smarter and closer to people who need it most.
Earlier, it was reported that over a million were still in need weeks after Ditwah floods in Sri Lanka.
