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The administration of United States President Donald Trump has pledged an additional $1.8bn in humanitarian aid to the United Nations.
But the amount announced on Thursday is still the lowest in US aid spending, which is set to reach $17bn in 2022.
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However, the Trump administration has tried to make small investments as evidence of its insistence on government efficiency.
Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, explained Trump’s goal “to ensure that American tax dollars are spent on humanitarian aid”.
“I’ll tell you for sure: President Trump has made it clear since his first day in office that the days of concessions are over,” Waltz said at a rally announcing additional aid.
He also said that, by changing the way the US spends money at the UN, Trump hopes to help the international organization “change”.
“In many ways, this agreement on reform reflects President Trump’s desire for the UN to help it achieve its potential,” Waltz said. “His role for us is to help the organization change and help it reach its potential.”
Aid changes under Trump
The $1.8bn that was announced on Thursday also comes $2bn “anchor commitment” to the humanitarian aid bill signed in December.
But the money was part of a memorial in which the Trump administration pushed the UN to achieve “humanitarian reform”. It criticized the agency for “ideological bias” and “bureaucratic inefficiency”, among other things.
Since his return to the second term in January 2025, Mr. Trump has started to withdraw from his promises around the world, spend the available money and destroy the main government agencies.
Last July, for example, his administration shut down US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has been, for many years, the main tool for distributing US foreign aid.
Aid and development funding around the world fell as the Trump administration suspended or canceled agreements.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that, in 2025, development aid from the US. has decreased by 56.9 percent in 2024.
Critics have warned that Trump’s efforts to cut foreign aid could undermine human rights, international security and public health.
In a 42-page report released on Thursday, Human Rights Watch called the “return to foreign investment” an “autocrat’s dream”, as it has weakened international mechanisms for dealing with human rights abusers.
“Cutting foreign aid has made it harder to document human rights violations, protect vulnerable people, and hold human rights violators accountable,” Sarah Yager, Washington director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
Fighting the UN
Trump and his allies have planned to cut spending if necessary to fight “waste, fraud and abuse” in the US government.
Trump has also been an outspoken critic of the UN, criticizing the organization for failing to deliver on its promises.
For example, at last year’s UN General Assembly, the president of the United States criticized the international organization for its “empty rhetoric” and its lack of action.
“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump asked. “The UN has such great potential. I’ve said it before. It has great, great potential, but it’s not even close to fulfilling its potential, at least at this point.”
In order to implement the proposed changes to the UN, the Trump administration has tried to put conditions on the funding it gives to the international organization.
But the US is behind the debt member of the UN. In February, the officials of the UN General Assembly said that the US paid only $ 160m, from the repayment of debt. about $4bn.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been one of the leaders pushing the US to fulfill its commitments, rejecting the prospect of any strings attached to delayed payments.
Speaking to the press on April 30, Mr. Guterres rejected the demands of the US, including changing the pension system of the UN and its officials.
“Tested contributions are the responsibility of member states,” he said. “They can’t negotiate.”
‘Overwhelmed’ and ‘underserved’
In Thursday’s meeting with Waltz, the UN humanitarian secretary, Tom Fletcher, emphasized the importance of dealing with the problems caused by conflicts, disasters and other emergencies around the world.
“We are faced with ever-increasing needs. More than 300 million people need our help, and we are facing a global financial crisis,” he said. “As a result, we are outnumbered, outgunned and under attack.”
Waltz, meanwhile, sought to refute claims that the Trump administration has abandoned promises to help the world’s most vulnerable people.
“There’s this story in the press that the United States has left,” Waltz said.
This is absolutely false. It’s fake news. Just the numbers we announced in December and what we’re announcing today will ensure that every dollar goes to people in need.
