U.S. pledges additional $1.8B in funding for U.N. humanitarian aid efforts

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics U.S. pledges additional $1.8B in funding for U.N. humanitarian aid efforts The Trump administration announced $1.8 billion in funding for the U.N.'s global humanitarian relief efforts. World U.S. pledges additional $1.8B in funding for U.N. humanitarian aid efforts May 15, 20264:45 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition Fatma Tanis U.S. pledges additional $1.8B in funding for U.N. humanitarian aid efforts Listen &middot; 2:07 2:07 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5822470/nx-s1-9771482" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript The Trump administration announced $1.8 billion in funding for the U.N.'s global humanitarian relief efforts. Sponsor Message MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: The Trump administration has pledged $1.8 billion for the United Nations' humanitarian aid efforts. It is the second round of funding since the U.S. gave $2 billion in December. NPR global health correspondent Fatma Tanis reports.

+ FATMA TANIS, BYLINE: Thursday's announcement came at a press conference from Jeremy Lewin, the State Department undersecretary for foreign assistance. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JEREMY LEWIN: There's this narrative that the United States is not present at the U.N., not present in the humanitarian space. That's not true. We are very involved. TANIS: The original $2 billion went to 18 countries, including Ukraine. The new funding will support three additional countries - Lebanon, Venezuela and the Central African Republic. Lewin says the administration is prioritizing places that carry strong national interest for the U.S. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) LEWIN: We're still the most generous nation in the world, so we're spending less, but achieving as much impact as possible. TANIS: Lewin said the administration was pleased with the way the funds moved out the door quickly in December. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) LEWIN: As the president has said, there was a crisis of accountability and trust in the humanitarian sector, and I think we're seeing incredible progress. TANIS: Jeremy Konyndyk is the president of Refugees International and former head of the Humanitarian Bureau of USAID. He says this is a positive move by the administration, but it's still $10 billion short of what the U.S. gave in the last year of the Biden administration. JEREMY KONYNDYK: The U.S. is still a player, albeit at a vastly smaller level than was the case before. There are a lot of programs that are shutting down. TANIS: Still, Konyndyk says, the move represents a departure from the administration's earlier stance of dismantling the foreign aid system. KONYNDYK: The American people support humanitarian aid, full stop, and they always have. And I think the administration recognizes that, and they've felt the backlash. TANIS: But, he says, the new model could carry some risk, too. It's better to have a diversified portfolio of organizations to fund, he says, rather than relying too heavily on just one group. Fatma Tanis, NPR News. (SOUNDBITE OF NATHANIEL MERRIWEATHER'S "PIT STOP (TAKE ME HOME)") Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1168:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(321)},321:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1141),c(116),c(95),c(52),c(492),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1142),c(144),c(1143),c(238),c(48),c(1144)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1168,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();