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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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