United Nations, Partners Seek $33bn to Support Disaster-Affected Nigerians and Millions in Global Crisis
The United Nations, alongside its global humanitarian partners, is pushing for a massive $23 billion funding drive to deliver urgent, life-preserving assistance in 2026 to more than 87 million people facing the compounded crises of war, climate disasters, earthquakes, epidemics, and agricultural collapse.
The appeal forms the core of the $33 billion Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) 2026, unveiled on Monday, which outlines strategies to reach 135 million vulnerable people across 50 countries. PulseNets learnt that the UN considers this the most urgent phase of next year’s rescue effort.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher underscored the gravity of the moment, stressing that the new appeal is designed to focus international efforts on immediate survival.
“This plan shows where our attention must go first — life by life, crisis by crisis,” he said.
PulseNets obtained details indicating that the updated GHO follows a tumultuous year marked by unprecedented attacks on aid workers and sharp funding cuts that crippled humanitarian operations in several hotspots. The 2026 framework includes 29 country-specific response plans, with the Occupied Palestinian Territory topping the list: $4.1 billion is needed to support roughly three million people living in extreme hardship.
In Sudan, humanitarian agencies are appealing for $2.9 billion to reach up to 20 million people trapped in what has become the world’s largest displacement crisis. An additional $2 billion is required to support approximately seven million Sudanese who have been forced to flee beyond the country’s borders. The largest regional plan remains Syria, estimated at $2.8 billion for 8.6 million people.
Fletcher, who spoke to PulseNets through aides close to the process, recalled the severe funding drought of the previous year. The 2025 appeal drew just $12 billion — the weakest donor response in a decade — resulting in 25 million fewer people receiving assistance compared to the year before.
He noted that the impact of the shortfall was swift and devastating, driving hunger, overwhelming fragile health systems, and stripping resources from critical protection services.“We watched famine take root in places like Sudan and Gaza,” he said during a pre-launch briefing.
“Support programmes for women and girls were decimated, hundreds of organisations folded, and we lost more than 380 aid workers — the highest death toll ever recorded.”
The UN relief chief described today’s humanitarian workforce as “overstretched, underfunded, and increasingly under attack,” a warning he has repeated for months.
“Only one-fifth of our appeals are met. We’re asked to race toward the burning building — and now we’re somehow expected to put out the fire too,” he cautioned.
“But the water tank is nearly empty, and the people driving the ambulance are being targeted.”
According to officials who told PulseNets, global humanitarian leaders will now take the 2026 appeal directly to UN member states, pressing for commitments that can sustain operations through one of the most volatile periods in recent history.
The fundraising campaign will unfold over 87 days, a symbolic timeline Fletcher described as “one day for each of the million lives we intend to safeguard.”
Also Read: Nicki Minaj Speaks on Genocide in Nigeria During United Nations Conference — What She Said
He emphasised that countries must also strengthen protection for aid workers — not merely through diplomatic statements but through concrete action.
“Governments must hold accountable those who attack us — and those who equip them,” he insisted.
