- OCHA looking to lay off about 500 staff.
- Humanitarian needs are on rise, says OCHA.
- US contribution would have accounted for 20%.
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will cut 20% of its staff as it faces a shortfall of $58 million, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher has told staff after OCHA’s largest donor — the United States — cut funding.
Fletcher said OCHA will scale back its presence and operations in Pakistan and other countries like Cameroon, Colombia, Eritrea, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Gaziantep (in Turkey) and Zimbabwe.
He said OCHA would “focus more of our resources in the countries where we work,” but would work in fewer places.
“OCHA currently has a workforce of around 2,600 staff in over 60 countries. The funding shortfall means we are looking to regroup to an organisation of around 2,100 staff in fewer locations,” Fletcher wrote in a note to staff on Thursday.
“As we all know, these exercises are driven by funding cuts announced by Member States and not by a reduction of needs,” Fletcher said. “Humanitarian needs are on the rise and have perhaps never been higher, driven by conflicts, climate crises, disease, and the lack of respect of international humanitarian law.”
OCHA works to mobilise aid, share information, support aid efforts, and advocate for those in need during a crisis. It relies heavily on voluntary contributions.
“The US alone has been the largest humanitarian donor for decades, and the biggest contributor to OCHA’s programme budget,” Fletcher said, noting that its annual contribution of $63 million would have accounted for 20% of OCHA’s extrabudgetary resources in 2025.
Since returning to office in January for a second term, US President Donald Trump’s administration has slashed billions of dollars in foreign assistance in a review that aimed to ensure programmes align with his “America First” foreign policy.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month announced a new initiative to improve efficiency and cut costs as the world body turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis.
