New York - Kabul: Europe and the Arabs
With a number of major donors sharply cutting their humanitarian funding, Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that humanitarian solidarity and compassion are not just a moral obligation, but are also in the interest of donor countries. He stated that the global aid system must undergo a restructuring to become more efficient and explore new sources of funding. According to the UN Daily News Bulletin, a copy of which we received,
In an interview with UN News, Mr. Fletcher emphasized that the recent cuts in international aid have dire consequences, adding that "people will die as a result of these cuts."
Mr. Fletcher clearly distinguished between politicians in donor countries who are forced to make "difficult decisions" due to their struggling economies and pressure from their constituents to cut foreign aid, and those "who celebrate, boast, and take credit for the aid cuts." "Whether we like it or not, it is in the national interest to spend on foreign aid. If you want to make your country great, don't withdraw from the world. Get out there and address global challenges wherever you find them. Otherwise, the next pandemic, the next economic collapse, the migration flows driven by the climate crisis, poverty, and future conflict will all come your way—and you won't be able to build a wall big enough to keep these problems at bay."
"Funding Won't Come Back Soon"
Mr. Fletcher, who is also the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said that "tough choices" are being made in the humanitarian sector, which he predicted will shrink "probably by a third."
He emphasized that a number of donors are maintaining their support for the humanitarian community despite the funding crises they face, and that new donors are emerging and growing.
However, he acknowledged that the funding that was cut "will not come back anytime soon, and there may be further funding cuts in the future." He said the humanitarian community will seek out new partners and "try to convince skeptics" to engage the private sector and change the public conversation about solidarity.
He said, "We have to work with the money we have, not the money we need or the money we wish we had. We work in the most desperate environments, and we always try to remain optimistic."
The UN official added that he will continue to uphold this spirit in his discussions with the US administration, stressing that he views positively US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statements on the need to protect life-saving humanitarian aid. He added, "I very much want to engage in this dialogue with him and learn his vision for the role of the United States in saving lives around the world."
The Under-Secretary-General added that as the process of "realigning humanitarian action" continues, there must be more innovation and a radical shift in thinking about how humanitarian work should be done in the future.
He added, "This means recognizing that our mission is the right mission, and that there is a (broad) movement that will support us, but we have to reconstruct how we operate in a different way." Mr. Fletcher told UN News that he took up his current position with a mission to reform the humanitarian sector, “long before Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and others started talking about efficiency, prioritization, and spending cuts.” He emphasized his belief that humanitarian work can be done more effectively “and much closer to the people we serve.”
Difficult but Constructive Discussions
The Under-Secretary-General was speaking from Afghanistan, where he is currently on a visit to assess the humanitarian situation and speak with various actors and officials there. He said that some 400 clinics have closed in recent weeks, and that NGOs are laying off “half their staff” due to international aid cuts.
He emphasized that his discussions with the de facto authorities regarding the rights of women and girls were difficult but constructive. He emphasized that humanitarian work “is entirely dependent” on the participation of women, adding: “We simply cannot deliver without them.” Regarding the broader issue of women’s and girls’ rights, he said that the right to education has been denied to millions of girls over the past three years. But Mr. Fletcher said he approaches this issue "as someone who believes in dialogue, who believes in respect, trust, and listening, and who recognizes that we have different cultures, different traditions, different heritages, and different beliefs." He said he has raised the issue of women's and girls' rights in all his meetings with Afghan officials, adding, "I believe we can make progress on this issue if we approach it in that spirit."