The US slashed its aid spending this year, and leading Western donors such as Germany also pared back assistance as they pivoted to increased defense spending, triggering a severe funding crunch for the United Nations.

The billions of dollars in assistance pledged by Washington on Monday will be overseen by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the US State Department said, under what it described as new model of assistance agreed with the UN that aims to make aid funding and delivery more efficient and increase accountability for the spending of funds.

UN data shows total US humanitarian contributions to the UN fell to about $3.38 billion in 2025, equating to about 14.8 percent of the global sum. This was down sharply from $14.1 billion the prior year, and a peak of $17.2 billion in 2022.

The US and United Nations will sign 17 memorandums of understanding with individual countries identified by the US as priority countries, officials from the US State Department and UN said in Geneva.

But some areas that are priorities for the UN, including Yemen, Afghanistan and Gaza, will not be receiving US funding under the new mechanism, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said, adding that the UN will seek support from other donors to find funding for those.

Jeremy Lewin, US State Department Under Secretary of State for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs and Religious Freedom, said further countries would be added as more money is contributed to the mechanism.

"These are some countries where I think our interests overlap ... But over time, we will thoughtfully add additional countries," Lewin said.

Gaza to be handled on separate track

A UN spokesperson said Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sudan were among the countries covered in Monday's package.

But Gaza – where aid agencies have repeatedly said far more aid needs to get into the small, crowded enclave – is not covered in Monday's announcement and will instead be handled on a separate track, Lewin said.

He said that the US had approved over $300 million after President Donald Trump's administration helped broker a Gaza ceasefire "to give pipeline to the UN agencies", adding that the US will be working to get additional donors for a pooled mechanism under a separate track for Gaza under phase two of the deal.

Fletcher said that donors would have "specific requirements" around which countries and what type of work should be funded.

"But the humanitarian action at the other end of that must always be neutral and impartial and independent, and nothing in the work that we're doing together here in this partnership undermines those principles," he said.

Lewin said the focus of the funding was on life-saving assistance, while funding for climate-related and other projects that were not a priority for the administration would be cut out.

Earlier in December, the United Nations launched a 2026 aid appeal for $23 billion to reach 87 million people at risk – half the $47 billion sought for 2025, reflecting plunging donor support despite record global needs.

Fletcher acknowledged it had been a tough year for the UN, following a slew of cuts while humanitarian crises in war-torn countries such as Sudan surged, but said he was optimistic following the US pledge.

"Millions of lives will be saved across 17 countries," said Fletcher.

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