United Nations: The shutting down of USAID, a “critical partner” of the world organisation, will have an “immediate impact on lifesaving activities”, according to Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “USAID is a critical partner, the US is a critical and generous partner for the United Nations in humanitarian development work”, he said on Monday.

 “This is having an immediate impact on lifesaving activities”, he said. US President Donald Trump’s adviser and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk said on Monday that Trump had agreed to shut down USAID, the main agency for foreign assistance. Dujarric said there’s “a lot of UN-US participation on development issues” and the UN was in touch with various agencies to assess the impact of USAID shutting down to "try to get a bit of clarity in a foggy environment”. "The US has been extremely generous to our humanitarian programmes all over the world”, he said.

“The US contributed 47 per cent of the global humanitarian appeal, which amounts to up to about $14 billion", he said. According to the USAID inspector general’s report, $25 billion was allocated by USAID for the UN and its agencies during the five years between 2019 and 2024. The World Food Programme, which helps people facing starvation because of conflicts, famines and natural disasters. was the main beneficiary during this period, with $16.8 billion allocated for it.

The UN Children’s Fund came next with a $2.7 billion allocation among the 20 UN agencies receiving aid. Trump is sceptic on multilateral cooperation and has announced that the US would be withdrawing from the World Health Organisation which has an allocation of $868 million. 

(IANS)