UNITED NATIONS, April 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Faced with a drastic drop in funding, the United Nations will scale back its humanitarian aid efforts in Ukraine, an official from the global body’s humanitarian affairs office said.
In January, the UN appealed for $2.63 billion in funding to assist six million people who need aid in Ukraine.
But due to a “sharp contraction” in humanitarian funding, “the UN and its partners… have further reprioritized” its operations in Ukraine to reach 4.8 million people with $1.75 billion, Joyce Msuya of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told the UN Security Council.
“The objective is to reach those most at risk and most in need, centering on four core response priorities: people near the front line, evacuations, emergency response after strikes, and aid to the most vulnerable among the internally displaced people,” she explained.
“Without increased support, even the necessary life-saving efforts could be jeopardized,” she added.
Overall, 12.7 million people are estimated to be in need of aid in Ukraine.
The statement comes as UN agencies have been announcing reductions in their operations and staffing levels around the world following major drops in donor contributions, particularly from the United States.
The administration of President Donald Trump has reduced funding of its humanitarian agency USAID by 83 percent. Until now, USAID alone ran an annual budget of $42.8 billion, or 42 percent of all humanitarian aid disbursed worldwide. — NNN-AGENCIES