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21:11 GMT
GENEVA, Dec 29 (KUNA) -- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced on Monday that it had received significant funding amounting to USD 2 billion from the United States for life-saving humanitarian programs in 17 countries.
The announcement was made during a joint press conference held by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher and Senior Official for Foreign Assistance Humanitarian Affairs and Religious Freedom Jeremy Lewin in the United States Mission in Geneva where they signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
Fletcher explained that this landmark contribution is expected to help save the lives of tens of millions of people in 2026 as part of an ambitious humanitarian goal to protect 87 million people worldwide.
He expected that the next period would witness a close cooperation between the United States and OCHA based on reform principles aimed at ensuring transparency in the use of funds and delivering assistance to those in need with maximum efficiency.
"Today's agreement ushers in a new era of UN humanitarian action and US leadership in the UN system," Lewin said.
"It shifts US funding of UN humanitarian work onto clearly defined accountable, efficient, and hyper-prioritized funding mechanisms to ensure that every taxpayer dollar spent of humanitarian assistance both advances American national interests and achieves the greatest possible lifesaving impact."
The US official emphasized that the current financial contribution represents an initial and foundational commitment marking the beginning of a partnership between the two sides based on transparency and accountability.
Lewin added that the UN system has increasingly failed to fulfill its core role in resolving global conflicts focusing instead on aid delivery rather than peacemaking.
He also noted that several countries including Afghanistan and Yemen were excluded from the current funding package due to what he described as "very serious concerns" while the Gaza Strip was also excluded as it is being addressed under a separate assistance track within the comprehensive plan previously announced by President Trump.
He further explained that current US funding priorities focus on regions where there is a strong convergence between American interests and proposed humanitarian projects indicating that Washington may consider expanding the list of beneficiary countries at a later stage.
President Trump had previously announced a halt to US contributions to the United Nations, saying that the UN need to ensure efficient use of financial resources and address what his administration described as structural imbalances and administrative inflation within the UN system.
The US decision prompted the United Nations to review its budget, lay off thousands of employees and scale back offices and programs in several countries. (end)
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