The United Nations rued the global “apathy” over widespread suffering as it launched its 2026 appeal for humanitarian assistance, as aid operations confront spending cuts across the globe.
“This is a time of brutality, impunity, and indifference.” UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told reporters, condemning “the ferocity and intensity of the killing, the complete disregard for international law, horrific levels of sexual violence” he had seen on the ground in 2025.
“This is a time when rules are in retreat, when the scaffolding of coexistence is under sustained attack, when our survival antennae have been numbed by distraction and corroded by apathy,” he said.
He said it was also a time “when politicians boast of cutting aid,” as he unveiled a streamlined plan to raise at least $23 billion to help 87 million people in the world’s most dangerous places such as Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti, and Myanmar.
The United Nations would like to ultimately raise $33 billion to help 135 million people in 2026, but it is painfully aware that its overall goal may be difficult to reach, given US President Donald Trump’s slashing of foreign aid.
The world body estimates that 240 million people are in conflict zones, suffering from epidemics, or victims of natural disasters and climate change that are in need of emergency aid.
In 2025, the UN’s appeal for more than $45 billion was only funded to the $12 billion mark – the lowest in a decade. That allowed it to help only 98 million people, 25 million fewer than the year before.
The UN will ask member states to open their government coffers to appeal for humanitarian aid. If they come up short, it could widen the campaign, appealing to civil society, the corporate world, and everyday people who are drowning in disinformation suggesting that their tax dollars are all going abroad.
“We’re asking for only just over one percent of what the world is spending on arms and defense right now,” Fletcher said.
As we witness the global order changing, especially in terms of the priorities of rich countries when it comes to taking the lead in providing humanitarian assistance, nations have to be ready to adapt. As the UN literally begs while donor nations scale down contributions, countries that were recipients will also have to make the necessary adjustments, particularly where vulnerable sections of their population are concerned.
If humanitarian aid drops, governments that have been dependent on such aid will have to find ways to step up, either by filling the gap themselves, or finding other donors or private philanthropists who are still willing to help.*
