US Pledges More Than $1 Billion to United Nations After Funding Cuts

The United States is giving the United Nations more than $1 billion for responding to humanitarian problems and disasters, officials announced on June 16.

The State Department said in a statement it is awarding more than $218 million to the U.N. Children’s Fund and more than $800 million to the U.N. World Food Programme.

The money will help the U.N. rapidly respond to humanitarian crises and disasters, according to the State Department.

Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. government has curtailed global spending. In late 2025, the Trump administration and the U.N. reached an agreement that provided $2 billion in humanitarian funding in exchange for reforms that U.S. officials said would reduce bureaucracy and “ideological creep,” including replacing unobservable grants with consolidated awards administered by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs that would be accountable and aligned with U.S. interests.

The new awards “replace the previous model of fragmented, duplicative individual grants that generated excessive overhead, created unpredictability for implementers, and diluted impact across many competing priorities” and “reflect a new model of humanitarian assistance built on speed, accountability, measurable impact, and the elimination of bureaucratic waste,” the State Department said on Tuesday.

In some cases, recipients of the money can mobilize as fast as within 24 hours.

The U.N. World Food Programme on Wednesday said it welcomed the funding.

“At a time when needs are outpacing resources, this generous support from the United States is coming at a critical moment,” Carl Skau, acting executive director of the program, said in a statement. “It is a lifeline to reach people on the brink of famine, provide nutritional support to mothers and children, and position food to prevent millions from slipping further into extreme hunger. Our teams can deliver at speed and scale. With the right resources, we will continue responding to hunger with efficiency, transparency, and accountability.”

The funding will go toward preparedness and response efforts in countries “prone to devastating natural disasters” across Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Indo-Pacific, according to the program.

Program officials have in recent months warned of a funding shortfall, which they said was leaving millions of people without crucial assistance. The program in May republished an opinion piece by a World Food Program USA board member, calling on the Trump administration to step up aid.

The program has an acting director following the resignation of Cindy McCain, effective early June, who said she was stepping down to focus on her health after suffering a stroke.