UN reduces humanitarian aid targets in Yemen, Somalia

The United Nations announced on Friday it is scaling back humanitarian aid goals in Yemen and Somalia due to a significant drop in funding from member states, Arab News reported.

The UN warned that these cuts put millions of lives at risk worldwide. Earlier this year, the UN appealed for $2.4 billion to assist 10.5 million people in Yemen, which is already below the estimated 19.5 million in need. Due to reduced funding, aid efforts have been reprioritized to focus on 8.8 million people with a $1.4 billion budget.

In Somalia, the original $1.4 billion plan to help 4.6 million people has been cut to $367 million, targeting 1.3 million people. Stephanie Tremblay, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, emphasized that humanitarian needs remain high despite the cuts. Similar funding reductions are affecting aid programs in Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN attributes part of the funding shortfall to decreased contributions, especially from the United States under President Donald Trump.