New UN aid chief vows ‘ruthlessness’ to prioritize spending as funding for world’s crises shrinks

Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — The new head of the U.N. humanitarian aid agency is calling for “ruthlessness” when prioritizing how it spends money. Tom Fletcher acknowledges that the office has “struggled in previous years to raise the money we need.” That’s even as crises grow more numerous, intense and long-lasting in places like Gaza, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is issuing its global appeal for 2025. It seeks $47 billion to help 190 million people in 32 countries. This year’s appeal for $50 billion was only 43% fulfilled as of last month.