Source: United Nations (video statements)
The United States today (14 May) announced a contribution of an additional $1.8 billion for the life-saving humanitarian work of the United Nations and humanitarian partners around the world.
At a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York, US Ambassador Mike Waltz said, “our partnership, our burden sharing, has increased, but duplication and inefficiencies have decreased that cost time, taxpayer money and, frankly, lives,” adding that this collaboration on reform “reflects President Trump’s priorities for the UN and helping it reach its potential.”
Waltz said, “we found that when the UN does what it does best, delivering humanitarian aid in remote, difficult locations at scale with a reliable and affordable supply chain, it can and does succeed. It’s only then, when the organization strays from its core mission, that it tends to not perform nearly as well as it should.”
The Ambassador said this 1.8 billion in humanitarian funding “will save more lives around the world but also drive forward the reforms that we’ve put in place for efficiency, accountability and lasting impact.”
For his part, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, said, “we are facing rising needs. Over 300 million people need our support. And we’re facing declining global funding. And we are, as a result, overstretched, under-resourced and literally under attack.”
Fletcher said the humanitarian response plan he presented last December, aimed at raising 23 billion dollars to save 87 million lives, “against the odds is working.”
He said, “we are fundraising for that 23 billion dollars, and up to this point in advance of the announcement that you’ve just heard, we’ve raised 7.38 billion dollars from 65 member states, plus other public and private sources of funding.”
Fletcher stressed that “the most important number that I have for you today on the delivery of that plan is that we have already reached in the first four months of the year, 14.4 million people with life-saving support.”
With this fresh funding, he said, “we will save millions of lives.”
Also briefing, the US Senior Official for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom, Jeremy P. Lewin said, “the way we were funding this system before did not work for the United States and our taxpayers.”
Lewin said, “we’re not responsible to the United Nations,” and pointing to Waltz added, “we work for, I work for the American people. He works for the American people, no one else.”
Responding to a journalist question on past comments he had made, Fletcher said, “I wish there was more money being spent on humanitarian action and less money in the world being spent on war. I would love much more of that funding to be going to the plan to help us raise that 23 billion. You can do the maths. I’ve told you I need 23 billion to save 87 million lives. And I’m sad that a lot of money at the moment is being spent on drones. We’re seeing it in all of the crisis areas where we’re working. The arms dealers are getting richer at the moment at the expense of the people who I serve. And it’s driving up humanitarian needs. But, you know, we’re here with a piece of good news today about a very significant chunk of US funding that they have chosen to spend on humanitarian action.”
Lewin for his part said, “there are a lot of countries that are sitting on the sidelines and making criticisms of the United States and talking about humanitarian impacts. Many of them are wealthy. Many of them have not shown up for this plan or any other plan. All of the other developed countries have cut many by much more than us. And they are putting their money towards things that are less hyper prioritized towards light saving aid. They’re saving social programs at the expense of life saving aid. And so there are a lot of countries that criticize the actions of President Trump. But when it comes to humanitarian lifesaving aid and, you know, you can do all the math, it’s visible. And Thomas said it, we are still here as the most generous country in the world.”
Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed today’s announcement.