UNITED NATIONS, Feb 05 : UN agencies on Tuesday offered a dire assessment of the global impact of deep cuts to grassroots humanitarian funding by the incoming Trump administration and reiterated calls for U.S. to retain its position as a global aid leader.<\/p>\n
The development follows the pause announced to billions of dollars of funding on 24 January by the US administration affecting \u201cnearly all US foreign aid programmes, pending a 90-day review\u201d, said Pio Smith from the UN\u2019s sexual reproductive health agency, UNFPA, briefing journalists in Geneva.<\/p>\n
In Pakistan, the UN agency warns that the US announcement will affect 1.7 million people, including 1.2 million Afghan refugees, who will be cut off from lifesaving sexual and reproductive health services, with the closure of over 60 health facilities.<\/p>\n
In Bangladesh, nearly 600,000 people, including Rohingya refugees, face losing access to critical maternal and reproductive health services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not about statistics. This is about real lives. These are literally the world\u2019s most vulnerable people,\u201d Smith insisted.<\/p>\n
In Bangladesh\u2019s Cox\u2019s Bazar refugee camp complex \u2013where more than one million Rohingya refugees remain trapped in dire conditions \u2013 nearly half of all births now take place in health facilities, with UNFPA\u2019s support.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis progress is now at risk,\u201d Smith continued, noting that the agency requires more than $308 million dollars this year to sustain essential services in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in a letter to all UN personnel released in New York on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he had responded to the executive order from US President Donald Trump with a call to \u201censure the delivery of critical development and humanitarian activities\u201d.<\/p>\n
The UN chief said the organization will remain actively engaged in assessing and mitigating the impact of the order.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, more than ever, the work of the United Nations is crucial\u2026Together, we will ensure that our organization continues to serve people in need around the world with unwavering commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n
On his part, UNFPA\u2019s Smith said that in response to the executive order, the agency \u201chas suspended services funded by US grants that provide a lifeline for women and girls in crises, including in South Asia\u201d.<\/p>\n
The UNFPA Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific warned that between 2025 and 2028 in Afghanistan, the absence of US support will likely result in 1,200 additional maternal deaths and 109,000 additional unintended pregnancies.<\/p>\n
Smith said the agency was seeking \u201cmore clarity\u201d from the administration \u201cas to why our programmes are being impacted, particularly those which we would hope would be exempt\u201d on humanitarian grounds.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the UN aid coordination agency OCHA, said that there have been no \u201clayoffs or closing down access\u201d in response to the executive orders.<\/p>\n
Spokesperson Jens Laerke added that the agency\u2019s country offices were \u201cin close contact\u201d with local US embassies to better understand how the situation will unfold.<\/p>\n
He explained that the US Government funded around 47 per cent of the global humanitarian appeal across the world last year; \u201cthat gives you an indication of how much it matters when we are in the situation we are in right now, with the messaging we\u2019re getting from the Government\u201d.<\/p>\n
The move follows the announcement that the new US administration has placed the country\u2019s principal overseas development agency, USAID, under the authority of the Secretary of State.<\/p>\n
Staff from the agency have been locked out of their offices, while the head of the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency has accused USAID of criminal activity and a lack of accountability.<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic name-calling won\u2019t save any lives,\u201d said OCHA\u2019s Laerke, while Alessandra Vellucci, head of the UN Information Service at UN Geneva, highlighted the UN Secretary-General\u2019s appeal for a relationship of trust with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are looking at continuing this work together [and listening]\u2026if there are criticisms, constructive criticism and points that we need to review,\u201d she told reporters, underscoring the \u201cdecades-long relationship of mutual support\u201d between the UN and the US.<\/p>\n
At the same scheduled press encounter, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Council responded to news reports that President Donald Trump plans to issue an executive order withdrawing the US from the 47-member world body.<\/p>\n
The US was a member of the Council from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2024, meaning that since 1 January this year it has been an \u201cobserver State\u2026like any of the 193 UN Member States that are not Council Members\u201d explained spokesperson Pascal Sim:<\/p>\n
\u201cAny Observer State of the Council cannot technically withdraw from an intergovernmental body that is no longer part of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amid uncertainty about future US funding, UNFPA\u2019s Smith underscored the immediate impact on at-risk individuals in the world\u2019s poorest settings: \u201cWomen give birth alone in unsanitary conditions; the risk of obstetric fistula is heightened, newborns die from preventable causes; survivors of gender-based violence have nowhere to turn for medical or psychological support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that the US Government will retain its position as a global leader in development and continue to work with UNFPA to alleviate the suffering of women and their families as a result of catastrophes they did not cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
UNFPA said it works across the world including in Afghanistan, where more than nine million people are expected to lose access to health and protection services because of the US funding crisis.<\/p>\n
This will impact nearly 600 mobile health teams, family health houses and counseling centres, whose work will be suspended, Smith explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery two hours, a mother dies from preventable pregnancy complications, making Afghanistan one of the deadliest countries in the world for women to give birth. Without UNFPA\u2019s support, even more lives will be lost at a time when the rights of Afghan women and girls are already being torn to pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 05 : UN agencies on Tuesday offered a dire assessment of the global impact of deep cuts to grassroots humanitarian funding by the incoming Trump administration and reiterated calls for U.S. to retain its position as a global aid leader. The development […]<\/p>\n
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