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UN PhotoGENEVA / HUMANITARIAN FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT
STORY: GENEVA / HUMANITARIAN FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT
TRT: 04:55
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 29 DECEMBER 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher and United Staters Senior Official for Foreign Assistance Jeremy Lewin sit down at press conference dais
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“It's been a very, very tough, tough year for everyone engaged in humanitarian action. But we've come through it well. And I'm feeling particularly - with this announcement today - more optimistic about getting out there and saving tens of millions of lives next year.”
3. Med shot, Fletcher and Lewin
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“This is in support of our 2026 plan to reach 87 million people next year with lifesaving support. And we have hyper-prioritized that plan to make sure that it is as efficient as possible, that we are reducing and removing the duplication and the bureaucracy from the system.”
5. Med shot, Fletcher and Lewin
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“We need to really make 2026 a year of diplomacy and peace-making. We've got to show that diplomacy is not dead and that we will indeed end so many of these conflicts that rage around the world. And I hope that this humanitarian commitment and our lifesaving plan will be part of that.”
7. Med shot, Fletcher and Lewin
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Lewin, Senior Official for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom, Department of State, United States:
“What we're signing here is an umbrella agreement with 17 of these country-level MOUs that Tom and I are going to sign that govern how we deliver us - you know - US funds. How he delivers and we fund and we oversee, you know, humanitarian assistance in these different countries.”
9. Med shot, Fletcher and Lewin
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Lewin, Senior Official for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom, Department of State, United States:
“Instead of having all these individual project type grants and these separate funding streams, the humanitarian coordinator or the regional coordinator in a region is going to have the power and coordination. You know, US funding is going to be in a separate pocket that's going to require, you know, a close coordination, you know, with the United States. But this humanitarian coordinator, who's the person who's best positioned in that region to know where the needs are, can sub obligate flexibly to the best, you know, positioned provider of a particular service. And they have a mandate through the agreement that we're working on to focus on that lifesaving impact and to maximize it.”
11. Various shots, Fletcher and Lewin sign MOUs
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Lewin, Senior Official for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom, Department of State, United States:
“it's no secret that our two institutions don't always agree on various issues. So, you'll notice there's no South Africa. There's no Gaza there. None of these issues where I think we still have significant, you know, political and other issues to resolve. These are countries where I think our interests are broadly aligned.”
13. Wide shot, Fletcher and Lewin at press conference dais
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“The fact that we're making this agreement doesn't mean that suddenly we agree on everything. And I'm sure that lots of people will have fun working through all the things that we still disagree on. the important thing here is that there was a real overlap there - as Jeremy says - around lifesaving work in these crisis countries, in these 17 crisis countries that we've identified between us and, and that's where we're focusing our energy and our action in the period ahead.”
15. Med shot, Fletcher and Lewin
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“With all of our donors, they will have specific requirements around which countries should be funded, which types of work should be funded. But the humanitarian action at the other end of that must always be neutral and impartial and independent. And nothing in the work that we're doing together here in this partnership undermines those principles.”
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“If the choices adapt or die, I choose to adapt. On the overall number, 2 billion is a big number. It's a very, very significant landmark contribution. And, you know, a month ago I would have anticipated the number was would have been zero. And so, I think, before worrying about what we haven't gone, I'd like to look at the millions of people whose lives will be saved, whose lives will be better because of this contribution.”
18. Med shot, Fletcher and Lewin
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Lewin, Senior Official for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom, Department of State, United States:
“Two billion dollars is a huge commitment from the United States. I would challenge anyone else. I would love to see another country in the world or another actor step up and beat us, right? I mean, I'd love someone else to give Two million dollars to have this impact, but I'm not sure that anyone is stepping up to do that. And, you know, the United States is still the country that's writing a two billion check. And at a time that we have so many challenges.”
20. Zoom out end of presser
Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under which the United States is making a $2 billion commitment to UN-managed humanitarian funds today (29 Dec), Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher said he was “more optimistic about getting out there and saving tens of millions of lives next year.”
At the press encounter in Geneva, Fletcher underscored that accountability and transparency will be central to this partnership, and that American taxpayers will see how every dollar is tracked, measured and turned into real, life-saving impact on the ground
He said, “this is in support of our 2026 plan to reach 87 million people next year with lifesaving support. And we have hyper-prioritized that plan to make sure that it is as efficient as possible, that we are reducing and removing the duplication and the bureaucracy from the system.”
The agreement between the United Nations and the Government of the United States covers 17 countries, as well as the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), enabling life-saving assistance to reach people in some of the world’s most severe crises.
The humanitarian chief highlighted the need to end wars and to reduce the number of humanitarian emergencies. He said, “we need to really make 2026 a year of diplomacy and peace-making. We've got to show that diplomacy is not dead and that we will indeed end so many of these conflicts that rage around the world. And I hope that this humanitarian commitment and our lifesaving plan will be part of that.”
Fletcher welcomed the announcement and the leadership of US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Under Secretary of State Jeremy Lewin.
Lewin said, “what we're signing here is an umbrella agreement with 17 of these country-level MOUs that Tom and I are going to sign that govern how we deliver us - you know - US funds. How he delivers and we fund and we oversee, you know, humanitarian assistance in these different countries.”
He said, “US funding is going to be in a separate pocket that's going to require, you know, a close coordination, you know, with the United States.”
After signing the MOUs, Fletcher and Lewin took questions from reporters.
Lewin said, “it's no secret that our two institutions don't always agree on various issues. So, you'll notice there's no South Africa. There's no Gaza there. None of these issues where I think we still have significant, you know, political and other issues to resolve. These are countries where I think our interests are broadly aligned.”
Fletcher, for his part said, “the fact that we're making this agreement doesn't mean that suddenly we agree on everything. And I'm sure that lots of people will have fun working through all the things that we still disagree on. the important thing here is that there was a real overlap there - as Jeremy says - around lifesaving work in these crisis countries, in these 17 crisis countries that we've identified between us and, and that's where we're focusing our energy and our action in the period ahead.”
He said it was a usual practice for donors to have “specific requirements around which countries should be funded, which types of work should be funded.”
Fletcher stressed that “the humanitarian action at the other end of that must always be neutral and impartial and independent. And nothing in the work that we're doing together here in this partnership undermines those principles.”
A journalist noted that 2 billion US dollars is a significantly lower amount than previous US contributions.
The humanitarian chief said, “if the choices adapt or die, I choose to adapt.”
He said, “the overall number, 2 billion is a big number. It's a very, very significant landmark contribution. And, you know, a month ago I would have anticipated the number was would have been zero. And so, I think, before worrying about what we haven't gone, I'd like to look at the millions of people whose lives will be saved, whose lives will be better because of this contribution.”
To conclude, Lewin said, “two billion dollars is a huge commitment from the United States. I would challenge anyone else. I would love to see another country in the world or another actor step up and beat us, right? I mean, I'd love someone else to give Two million dollars to have this impact, but I'm not sure that anyone is stepping up to do that.”
