The UN suspends humanitarian aid to some regions of Ukraine due to the reduction of funding from the United States
In late February, the Trump administration announced the cancellation of more than 90% of foreign humanitarian payments from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and as a result, up to a million people may be left without support from humanitarian agencies and organizations, as stated by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR at a Press Conference after the 66th session of the Excom. October 9, 2015. UN Photo/ Jean-Marc Ferré“I want to start by expressing my deep concern about information received in the last 48 hours by UN agencies – as well as many humanitarian and development NGOs – regarding severe cuts in funding by the United States…. The consequences will be especially devastating for vulnerable people worldwide,” the UN Secretary-General said in his statement.
According to Guterres, cash-based programs, a crucial element of humanitarian assistance for one million people, have been suspended in the affected regions in Ukraine.
“The reduction of America’s humanitarian role and influence will run counter to American interests globally. I can only hope these decisions can be reversed based on more careful reviews,” Guterres emphasised.
According to media reports, the administration of US President Donald Trump is conducting a review of USAID, which was founded in the early 1960s to coordinate US aid abroad.
The White House emphasises the need to reform the agency because it claims USAID is full of “waste and abuse.”
As noted in a recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), in fiscal year 2023, USAID managed more than $40 billion in total appropriations to support projects in about 130 countries. The three largest recipients of assistance were Ukraine, Ethiopia, and Jordan. Afghanistan is also among the top 10 recipients of USAID funding.
Earlier, NBC News reported that the State Department this week terminated a US Agency for International Development initiative that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to help restore Ukraine’s energy grid from attacks by the Russian military.
Previously, a joint research by the Physicians for Human Rights and also the Truth Hounds revealed the consequences of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, documenting how systematic strikes have reduced available power capacity by 85% and severely compromised healthcare delivery in the country.
According to the Fourth Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4), the most affected sectors, based on the assessment results, are housing, accounting for 33% of the total damage; transport, at 21%; energy and extractive industries, at 12%; and trade and industry, at 10%.
In the energy sector, there was a 93% increase in damaged or destroyed assets, including electricity generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. Across all sectors, the most tremendous losses were experienced in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Kyiv regions. Damage in these regions constitutes 72% of the total damage.
Ukraine’s recovery needs are estimated at $524 billion over the next ten years. The RDNA4 has identified 348 priority projects 2025 across various sectors, totaling $17 billion. Of these, 127 projects already have partial or full funding amounting to $7 billion, 40% of the need.
