UN Warns of Global “Apathy” as It Launches $23 Billion Humanitarian Appeal for 2026
UN Warns of Global “Apathy” as It Launches $23 Billion Humanitarian Appeal for 2026
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The United Nations has sharply criticized what it calls growing global indifference to widespread human suffering, as it unveiled a significantly reduced humanitarian appeal for 2026 amid deep funding cuts.
More details in the following report:
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the international community is facing “a time of brutality, impunity and indifference,” citing the widespread violence, disregard for international law, and “horrific levels of sexual violence” documented in conflict zones throughout 2025, Dawn E-Newspaper reported.
Speaking in Geneva, he warned that the retreat of global norms and political hostility toward foreign aid were undermining lifesaving operations.
The UN is seeking at least $23 billion to assist 87 million people in some of the world’s most dangerous crises, including Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar and Haiti. The full requirement for 2026 is $33 billion to support up to 135 million people, though officials acknowledge the goal may be unrealistic following major reductions in US foreign aid under President Donald Trump.
The appeal follows a year of severe underfunding. Of the more than $45 billion requested in 2025, only $12 billion was raised — the lowest level in a decade — leaving 25 million fewer people reached compared with 2024. UN data shows the United States remained the largest aid donor but contributed $2.7 billion in 2025, down from $11 billion a year earlier.
Top priorities for 2026 include Gaza and the West Bank, where the UN is seeking $4.1 billion to support three million people, and Sudan, where the agency is requesting $2.9 billion to assist 20 million amid escalating violence and mass displacement. Fletcher highlighted cases of extreme abuse, including a Sudanese mother who survived rape and assault while fleeing attacks in North Darfur.
The UN will lobby governments intensively over the next 87 days, symbolically one day for every million people in need. Fletcher said that if governments fall short, the UN will expand its outreach to civil society and the private sector, arguing that the world is being misled into believing its resources are already overstretched.
“We’re asking for just over one percent of what the world currently spends on arms and defense,” he said, urging states to shift priorities from military spending to humanitarian relief.
