Wed Mar 12 19:47:59 UTC 2025: ## Trump’s Foreign Aid Cuts Cause “Seismic Shock” to Global Humanitarian Efforts, UN Warns

**Geneva, Switzerland** – The United Nations has issued a stark warning about the devastating consequences of President Trump’s drastic cuts to US foreign aid. Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), declared the cuts a “seismic shock” to the global humanitarian sector, predicting that the reduction in funding will lead to widespread death.

Fletcher stated that over 300 million people globally require humanitarian assistance, and the significant reduction in US funding, following a freeze and subsequent cancellation of 83% of USAID contracts, is severely impacting the UN’s ability to provide aid. The US State Department’s decision to end the contracts is a direct result of the Trump administration’s broader effort to slash government spending.

The UN had previously estimated that $47.4 billion would be needed in 2025 to assist 190 million people. With the significant loss of US funding – historically crucial in saving hundreds of millions of lives, according to Fletcher – the UN is now forced to drastically reduce its reach and prioritize which lives it can save. OCHA officials are currently evaluating how to prioritize aid to save an estimated 100 million people and calculating the necessary funding for that scaled-back effort. Fletcher poignantly stated that UN agencies are now making “tough choices day to day about which lives we will have to prioritize, which lives we will have to try to save.” The situation highlights the critical role US foreign aid plays in global humanitarian efforts and the potentially catastrophic impact of its reduction.

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