The United States and the United Nations signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday (December 29th), reaffirming Washington’s “firm commitment to supporting critical humanitarian actions to save lives around the world” and calling on the UN to implement “reforms to make this work more impactful and efficient, and to provide better accountability to American taxpayers.”
At the signing of the agreement, the United States announced a $2 billion humanitarian donation to the United Nations for its humanitarian work around the world.
The U.S. State Department stated in a release, “This historic donation is expected to protect tens of millions of people from hunger, disease, and war-related destruction in 2026 alone. By significantly enhancing efficiency and prioritizing the impact of saving lives, this new model is projected to save nearly $1.9 billion for American taxpayers compared to the old, outdated funding allocation methods.”
For decades, the United States has been the largest contributor to UN humanitarian work. According to documents released by the U.S. government at the end of last year, Washington is the largest single donor to global humanitarian assistance, providing over $54 billion in humanitarian aid since 2021.
“However, as President Trump has made clear, the UN is increasingly failing to deliver on its commitments. At the same time, U.S. contributions to the UN have surged in recent years – voluntary contributions range from $8 billion to $10 billion annually,” said the U.S. State Department.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on the agreement signed with the United Nations, stating that the agreement “completely reforms the way in which the United States funds, manages, and oversees humanitarian work for the UN.”
Rubio posted on the social media platform X, saying, “The goal is to ensure that American taxpayers spend less money and save more lives.”
He added, “The new model will better share the burden of humanitarian work with other developed countries and will require the UN to cut redundancies, eliminate overlaps, and focus on strong new mechanisms of impact, accountability, and oversight.”
Rubio emphasized the U.S. government’s commitment to providing humanitarian aid.
He said, “When it comes to providing lifesaving humanitarian aid, the United States remains the most generous country in the world. However, under the leadership of the U.S. president, taxpayer dollars will no longer fund waste, anti-American sentiment, or inefficiency.”
Tom Fletcher, the UN Deputy Secretary-General in charge of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, confirmed that the United States has made an extraordinary $2 billion commitment in support of their global humanitarian operations.
Fletcher stated, “The bold and visionary leadership shown by President Trump, Secretary of State Rubio, and Deputy Secretary Jeremy Lewin will save millions of lives.”
Fletcher confirmed that reform is at the core of future work between the United States and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the humanitarian system.
“We owe it to American taxpayers to show them how their support is being utilized, and we will demonstrate how every dollar brings tangible results in saving lives,” Fletcher said.
This commitment came four months after the White House canceled nearly $5 billion in U.S. foreign aid and funding for international organizations, citing that these grants contradicted Trump’s “America First priorities.”
In its place, the United States introduced a new strategy called the “America First Global Health Strategy.” The Trump administration stated that this new approach prioritizes bilateral agreements to reduce waste and inefficiency, issues that had undermined past strategies.