At a time of severe cuts to the global body’s humanitarian work in emergencies and “soaring” needs, the UN’s relief chief has condemned the “$1 billion-a-day” cost of the war roiling Iran and the wider Middle East. On Wednesday in Geneva, he spoke about his efforts to reach 87 million people with life-saving aid, for which US$23 billion is urgently needed.
“We’re seeing violence reverberate across borders, displacement, economic shocks, soaring humanitarian needs – and we’re seeing the consequences spread faster than we can respond,” warned the UN Under-Secretary-General for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher.
He said that the developments of the past two weeks further confirm that we are living in a time of brutality, impunity and indifference.
“The rules-based scaffolding meant to restrain the worst excesses of war is cracking. Human ingenuity is being applied to find ever more sinister ways to kill at scale, while civilians are subjected to ever more abject violence,” the UN relief chief added.
He noted that humanitarian organizations are overstretched, under sustained attack, and under-resourced, yet they refuse to give up on the people who rely on them to survive.
Fletcher launched a new campaign today to rediscover solidarity and humanity amidst these tough times. He highlighted the $23 billion appeal announced last December to help 87 million of the world’s most vulnerable people.
“Let me just pause on that staggering number – 87 million people, more than died in the Second World War, the catastrophe that, of course, led to the creation of the United Nations. And of course, behind every number is a life, is a story,” he said
Fletcher stressed that the global appeal for hyper-prioritized aid remains around two-thirds underfunded, as the humanitarian community has only received $5 billion for the plan. Additional pledges and announcements have brought the total to $8.7 billion.
“But we still face a massive gap, and I can’t rely on States and Governments alone. Without additional support, millions of people will die,” he added, calling on civil society, the private sector and the public for their support.
“We’re not asking you to choose between a hospital in Brooklyn, London, Mexico City, Rio, Manila, or a hospital in Kandahar, Akobo, Aleppo, Port-au-Prince,” he said.
“We’re asking you just to recognize that maybe the world can spend a little bit less on weapons this year and a little bit more on doing something extraordinary and world-changing.”
Over $14 billion more are still needed to deliver the plan, and “this is at a time when conflict in the Middle East is costing $1 billion a day,” he said.
“Even just $1 billion would allow us to save millions of lives. So, the choice is there: are we going to close this gap?”
Fletcher reiterated that without additional support, “millions of people will die” and urged donors to quickly deliver on their pledges.
“We need those who have more funds available to get those funds moving fast towards this plan in the first half of the year, not the second half, to allow us to deliver where support is most needed,” he said.
Although 245 million people globally are in need of humanitarian assistance, far surpassing the 87 million identified in the “hyper-prioritized plan” unveiled at the end of last year, Fletcher explained that the latter group comprises those in the “greatest need.”
The plan involves approximately 2,000 humanitarian organizations, 60 percent of which are local.
In January, the initiative enabled more than seven million people facing severe needs to receive lifesaving support in the hardest-to-reach places across 17 operations, he said, emphasizing the need to support crises in Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan.
“In Sudan alone, we reached almost two million people in January, despite the security and logistics challenges we face. Imagine delivering that same result every month this year,” he said.
Given the scale of the ongoing needs, the UN humanitarian aid chief spotlighted the launch of a global appeal to fund the shortfall and save "one life at a time: 87 million lives."
To date, it has received $60 million in funding from foundations, corporations, and individual donors.
“We’re inviting new partners to step forward. I believe that when people understand what humanitarian funding represents and delivers, they will overwhelmingly support this action – it’s about solidarity, humanity, kindness,” Fletcher noted.
Turning to the ongoing war in Iran and across the Middle East, now in its twelfth day, Fletcher expressed deep concern about the near-standstill of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 percent of the world’s oil passes.
“I'm really worried about food costs, energy costs […] fertilizer costs,” he said.
“I'm worried that actually 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.”
Fletcher also noted that the use of drones in the conflict indicates that “the world has decided that it's far more interested in spending enormous amounts of money developing these increasingly deadly weapons than it is on saving lives.”
Further information
Full text: UN Relief Chief: Choose humanity to save 87 million lives in a time of "brutality", Remarks at Press Conference on 87 Million Lives Campaign by Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, OCHA, delivered March 11, 2026
https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-choose-humanity-save-87-million-lives-time-brutality
Donation Website: 87 million lives campaign
https://crisisrelief.un.org/en/onelifeatatime