Experts say US $2bn aid terms risk making UN bow to Washington

The US pledged $2bn to the UN humanitarian system but attached conditions, saying the UN must "adapt, shrink or die" and that the money be channelled through a pooled fund under the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) and used for 17 priority countries chosen by the US, the US state department said.

The list excludes some countries undergoing profound humanitarian crises such as Afghanistan and Yemen. Aid experts voiced strong concerns about the demands. Themrise Khan called it "a despicable way of looking at humanitarianism and humanitarian aid" and said the UN was "literally bowing down to just one power", calling the move "the nail in the coffin." Ronny Patz said: "The fact that they are announcing a selected list of countries in advance shows they have very clear political priorities for this money," and warned that the restrictions "solidifies a massively shrunk UN humanitarian system." Thomas Byrnes said the $2bn was significantly less than the $3.38bn the US gave the UN in 2025, that "this is a carefully staged political announcement that obscures more than it reveals," and that channelling funds through Ocha may be an attempt to centralise control.

Byrnes also noted the contribution comes alongside other US decisions, including cutting $5bn in foreign assistance described as "woke, weaponised and wasteful spending" and a proposal to end support for peacekeeping missions, for which it already owes the United Nations $1.5bn.

Key Topics

World, Us State Department, Ocha, United Nations, Sudan, Haiti