World: Mr. Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator – Remarks to the press on US humanitarian funding at UN Headquarters, 14 May 2026

Country: World Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs New York, 15 September 2025 Thank you very much, Ambassador Mike Waltz [U.S. Representative to the United Nations] and thank you, Under Secretary Jeremy Lewin [U.S. Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom] for being here today. And thank you for not just being here in presence, but as such, a key supporter for this life-saving work that lies ahead of us. Those of you who are very attentive will remember I was here on 8 December and set out a plan for 2026 to reach 87 million people with life-saving support at the cost of $23 billion, which, as I said at the time, was less than 1 per cent of what the world would spend on guns, arms and security. It is less than half of what Wall Street spent on bonuses a few weeks ago. It is a fraction of what we spend on fizzy drinks or bottled water in places where we have access to fresh water itself. An ambitious plan, but one that we had fully prioritized and costed, and which we are determined, as a humanitarian community, to deliver. And I said at the time that we were balancing three key aspects of this work. Firstly, to retain our principles and our values around impartial, neutral, life-saving work. Secondly, to reform the humanitarian system as we go along for the new realities that we face. And thirdly, to get out there and raise the money that we need in a period when there is less money around for humanitarian action. As you have heard me say many times, we are facing rising needs, over 300 million people need our support. And we are facing declining global funding. We are, as a result, overstretched, under resourced and literally under attack. I spent much of last night in touch with my colleagues in Ukraine as they responded to a double hit o...

Original source: Relief Web