UN agencies on Tuesday offered a dire assessment of the global impact of deep cuts to grassroots humanitarian funding by the incoming US administration and reiterated calls for Washington to retain its position as a global aid leader.
The development follows the pause announced to billions of dollars of funding on 24 January by the US administration affecting “nearly all US foreign aid programmes, pending a 90-day review”, said Pio Smith from the UN’s sexual reproductive health agency, UNFPA, briefing journalists in Geneva.
In a letter to all UN personnel released on Tuesday morning in New York, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he had responded to the executive order from US President Donald Trump with a call to “ensure the delivery of critical development and humanitarian activities”.
Mr. Guterres said the organization will remain actively engaged in assessing and mitigating the impact of the order.
“Now, more than ever, the work of the United Nations is crucial…Together, we will ensure that our organization continues to serve people in need around the world with unwavering commitment.”
