US Gives $1.8 Billion to UN Humanitarian Agency in Funding Shift
The Trump administration pledged $1.8 billion to the United Nations’ humanitarian arm and suggested more funding could follow, even as the White House withholds money to pressure the UN over its priorities.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz announced Thursday’s commitment to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, in addition to the $2 billion the US pledged in December.
“These funds are for victims of natural disasters, for tsunamis, for earthquakes, for famine, people who are truly in critical need,” Waltz told reporters. He said OCHA had shown a “clear commitment to reform” and successfully deployed past contributions.
The contributions are separate from mandatory payments to the broader UN. The US is responsible for 22% of the UN’s regular budget, but the Trump administration has paid only a fraction of what it owes and has accumulated roughly $2 billion in unpaid dues.
Waltz said Thursday the amount owed could be reduced with “an additional, substantial tranche towards our regular budget” that was “coming soon.” State Department foreign assistance director Jeremy Lewin said the US “will exceed our assessed amount this year in UN regular budget contributions.”
The Trump administration, which dismantled the US Agency for International Development and criticized the UN for focusing on issues such as gender, has praised OCHA as a more efficient part of the organization amid a broader restructuring of US foreign aid spending.
Waltz said the funds announced in December and on Thursday “will result in more cents on every dollar actually getting to people in need.”
