Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, made the announcement at a press conference Thursday saying the money will be earmarked for life-saving aid to victims of natural disasters, famine and “people who are truly in critical need.”
The $1.8 billion, to be allocated over the coming year, is in addition to the $2 billion the Trump administration announced in December.
President Donald Trump shut down the international aid agency USAID, throwing global humanitarian efforts into turmoil.
U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called his agency “overstretched, under-resourced and literally under attack” and reiterated its 2026 plan to reach 87 million of the world’s most needy at a cost of $23 billion — even though 300 million people need humanitarian help.
Before Waltz’s announcement, he said, the U.N. had raised about $7.4 billion. He said the U.S. is now “the single largest national donor” to the United Nations.