UN appeals for $23b, warns of global aid shortfall
The United Nations has launched its 2026 aid appeal, requesting $23 billion, just half of its estimated global needs, amid record humanitarian crises worldwide.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher warned that funding cuts from the United States and other major donors have forced the UN to prioritize only the most desperate, leaving tens of millions without assistance, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
The appeal highlights 87 million priority cases, including people in Gaza, Sudan, and Syria, while roughly 250 million people worldwide need urgent humanitarian support. Fletcher described the situation as “overstretched, underfunded, and under attack.”
The UN plans to assist 135 million people at a projected cost of $33 billion if full funding becomes available. The largest single appeal, $4 billion, is for the occupied Palestinian territory, mostly Gaza, devastated by conflict and reliant on aid.
Fletcher called on civil society, businesses, and the public to help fill the funding gap, as the UN remains heavily dependent on voluntary Western donations, with the US still the largest contributor despite reduced support.
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