Sat Apr 12 02:51:58 UTC 2025: ## UN Cuts 20% of Humanitarian Staff Due to $60 Million Funding Gap

**United Nations, April 12, 2025** – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is slashing its workforce by 20%, impacting 2,600 staff across more than 60 countries. This drastic measure comes in response to a nearly $60 million funding shortfall, attributed to significant cuts in international contributions.

OCHA chief Tom Fletcher revealed in a letter that the agency faces a $58 million gap in its $430 million budget for 2025. While he didn’t explicitly name the responsible nation, he pointed to the United States, historically the largest humanitarian donor and OCHA’s biggest extra-budgetary contributor (approximately 20% or $63 million). The State Department confirmed that funding for OCHA, and other international organizations, remains under review.

The cuts, described by Fletcher as “brutal,” are forcing OCHA to scale back operations in several countries, including Cameroon, Colombia, Eritrea, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Gaziantep (Turkey), and Zimbabwe. The reduction in staff will also impact senior positions at UN headquarters and in various regions.

Fletcher stated that the humanitarian community was already overstretched and underfunded before these recent cuts. He emphasized that the reduction in funding will severely impact access to life-saving support, with local humanitarian organizations bearing the brunt of the consequences.

To address the funding crisis, OCHA will restructure its operations to reduce bureaucracy, becoming “less top-heavy” and shifting decision-making to the local level. The agency aims for a 70/30 budget ratio between country/regional offices and headquarters. Fletcher expressed hope that these changes will improve efficiency and response times to crises.

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