The United Nations’ emergency relief chief has condemned the staggering $1 billion-a-day cost of the ongoing war in the Middle East, highlighting the sharp contrast with severe underfunding of global humanitarian efforts amid escalating crises.
Speaking in Geneva, Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, warned that the conflict is spreading consequences faster than the humanitarian system can respond.
He pointed out that the UN’s $23 billion appeal—launched last December to assist 87 million of the world’s most vulnerable people—remains about two-thirds underfunded, with over $14 billion still needed.
“Even just one billion dollars would allow us to save millions of lives,” Fletcher said. “The choice is there: are we going to close this gap?”
He urged donors to deliver on pledges quickly—“in the first half of the year, not the second half”—to enable life-saving aid in hard-to-reach areas.
While global needs far exceed the 87 million prioritized in the plan, Fletcher explained these represent those in the greatest peril. The initiative involves around 2,000 humanitarian organizations, 60% of which are local partners.
In January alone, the plan reached over seven million people in 17 operations, including nearly two million in Sudan despite extreme security and logistics challenges.
Fletcher stressed the urgency of closing the funding gap to sustain monthly results like those achieved in January.
The UN has launched a global appeal to address the shortfall, raising $60 million so far from foundations, corporations, and individuals. “We cannot rely on governments alone,” he noted.
Turning to the Middle East war—now in its twelfth day—Fletcher expressed alarm over the near-total disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about 20% of the world’s oil.
“I’m really worried about food costs, energy costs…fertilizer costs,” he said. “Further escalation will damage other supply routes. All of this has a direct impact on our humanitarian supplies, including going to areas of key need in sub-Saharan Africa.”
He also criticized the massive investment in increasingly deadly weapons, including drones, saying the world appears more focused on destruction than on saving lives.
Fletcher reiterated the need for urgent donor support to prevent millions of deaths and sustain aid in crises across Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and beyond.
