UN agency to slash staff by 20% amid funding crisis

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will cut 20% of its staff as it faces a shortfall of $60 million, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher has told staff after OCHA's largest donor - the United States - cut funding."OCHA currently has a workforce of around 2,600 staff in over 60 countries. The funding shortfall means we are looking to regroup to an organisation of around 2,100 staff in fewer locations," Fletcher wrote in a note to staff on Friday.

In the letter to staff at the agency, he didn't say which country was responsible for the cuts that led to the funding crisis at OCHA, but he indicated it was the United States.

OCHA works to mobilise aid, share information, support aid efforts, and advocate for those in need during a crisis. It relies heavily on voluntary contributions.

"The humanitarian community was already underfunded, overstretched and literally, under attack. Now, we face a wave of brutal cuts,” Fletcher wrote, emphasising that the reductions stem from financial constraints rather than diminished needs."The U.S. alone has been the largest humanitarian donor for decades, and the biggest contributor to OCHA's programme budget," Fletcher said, noting that its annual contribution of $63 million would have accounted for 20% of OCHA's extrabudgetary resources in 2025.

WAM