The United States will commit $2 billion in life-saving humanitarian assistance next year to tens of millions of people facing hunger, disease, and displacement across dozens of countries, the State Department said on Monday.
The move marks a significant recalibration of Washington’s aid architecture following the Trump administration’s decision to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) earlier this year.
The funding will be overseen by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and disbursed through UN agencies and international humanitarian partners, according to the statement. The move effectively shifts the management of a large portion of U.S. emergency aid away from a standalone American development agency toward multilateral coordination under the UN system.
The pledge comes against the backdrop of a major restructuring of U.S. foreign assistance. Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced the cancellation and winding down of USAID, arguing that the agency had become inefficient, overly bureaucratic, and misaligned with the administration’s “America First” foreign policy doctrine. USAID, founded in 1961, had for decades served as Washington’s primary vehicle for delivering development aid, disaster relief, and health programmes in some of the world’s poorest and most fragile countries.
Its closure marked a sharp break from past U.S. policy and sparked concern among humanitarian organizations and foreign policy experts, who warned that dismantling USAID could weaken America’s influence and slow emergency responses in crisis zones. In response, administration officials said humanitarian assistance would not disappear but would instead be restructured, with greater reliance on multilateral institutions and tighter oversight of how funds are spent.
The newly announced $2 billion package appears designed to reassure allies and aid agencies that Washington intends to remain a major humanitarian donor, even as it overhauls the way assistance is delivered. According to U.S. officials, the funding will support emergency food aid, nutrition programmes, access to clean water, basic healthcare services, and disease prevention efforts, particularly in conflict-affected and climate-vulnerable regions.
Much of the assistance is expected to be directed to sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, where prolonged conflicts, droughts, floods, and economic shocks have pushed millions into acute food insecurity. The United Nations estimates that more than 300 million people globally will require humanitarian assistance next year, with funding shortfalls already forcing aid agencies to scale back operations.
By placing the funds under OCHA’s coordination, Washington said it aims to improve efficiency and ensure resources are allocated based on the severity of need. OCHA plays a central role in prioritizing crises, coordinating donor responses, and managing pooled humanitarian funds that can be rapidly deployed in emergencies.
The State Department also framed the pledge as part of a broader effort to prevent humanitarian crises from escalating into security threats, mass migration, or regional instability. Officials argue that early intervention on hunger and disease is more cost-effective than responding to full-blown crises later.
Aid groups have cautiously welcomed the funding commitment but stressed that the loss of USAID leaves a gap in long-term development planning and on-the-ground expertise that humanitarian aid alone cannot fill. They have urged the administration to clarify how future development and resilience programmes will be handled alongside emergency relief.
While the State Department did not provide a detailed breakdown of country allocations, it said further details would be released as needs assessments are completed. However, the $2 billion pledge signals that even after the dismantling of USAID, the United States intends to retain a visible — if restructured — role in the global humanitarian system.
