Tom Fletcher

United Nations relief chief Tom Fletcher is warning that the post-war international system is facing its "greatest test since its creation" and that the humanitarian community is confronting a massive crisis of "funding, morale and legitimacy". The stark warning comes as extreme funding cuts to humanitarian aid by the United States are starting to have a devastating impact around the world, putting hundreds of thousands of lives at risk and leaving tens of millions without access to the aid they desperately need.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is spiraling out of control, with a staggering number of people facing hunger, including extreme conditions, and the United Nations’ ability to deliver aid severely hampered by ongoing conflict, funding shortages, and arbitrary detentions. This was the stark warning delivered on Monday by UN relief chief Tom Fletcher during a briefing to the UN Security Council.

Amid escalating violence in Haiti, United Nations relief chief Tom Fletcher made an impassioned plea for international support to ease immense suffering. Fletcher spent three days in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, meeting with people in urgent need, government officials, humanitarian partners, and diplomats. Meanwhile, the UN is fast-tracking support for displaced and host communities in Haiti, in light of the dire situation and massive funding shortfalls.

The United Nations' top humanitarian official issued a blunt warning on Monday about a mounting "age of indifference" as funding for essential aid programs continues to dwindle. Addressing journalists at the UN headquarters in New York, Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, highlighted a critical shortfall in resources and the escalating threats facing humanitarian workers worldwide.

Multiple unending conflicts, climate change and a blatant disregard for long-established international humanitarian law (IHL) will leave a staggering 305 million people in need of humanitarian aid next year, the UN's top aid official warned on Wednesday, as the United Nations launched an appeal for US$47.4 billion to provide life-saving relief in more than 30 countries and 9 refugee-hosting regions.

United Nations relief chief Tom Fletcher on Friday again called on the international community to protect civilians in Gaza and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, in accordance with international law, as Israeli attacks on civilians, aid workers, UN personnel, hospitals and ambulances continue with impunity. The complete blockade of humanitarian aid and commercial goods into Gaza, imposed by Israel four weeks ago, remains in place.

Those impacted by the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) need much more international assistance than they are currently receiving, the United Nations' top aid official said on Thursday. Speaking from the Goma region, whose main city was overrun by Rwanda-backed rebels from the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) in January, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher explained that people have suffered "decades of trauma."

In the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday, United Nations relief chief Tom Fletcher and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi launched the humanitarian and refugee response plans for 2025. The UN is appealing for $3.3 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to 8.2 million of the 14.9 million Ukrainians whose lives have been upended by Russia's invasion of their country nearly three years ago.

As civilians lining up for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip continue to be killed by Israeli forces, speakers at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Wednesday urged Israel to lift restrictions on aid operations in Gaza, called for a return to UN-led delivery mechanisms, and stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire and the protection of civilians. Among them was UN relief chief Tom Fletcher, who told members that "we are beyond vocabulary to describe conditions in Gaza."

Briefing the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday on the catastrophic reality in Gaza, the top UN relief official urged those present to consider what they will tell future generations when asked what they did to stop the "21st century atrocity" taking place daily before the eyes of the world. The statement comes as every one of Gaza's 2 million surviving Palestinians faces famine, with one in five on the brink of starvation.

The United Nations humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said in a statement on Wednesday that the world is watching horrifying scenes day after day of Palestinians being shot, wounded, or killed in the Gaza Strip simply for trying to eat. The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has recorded the deaths of at least 82 Palestinians and the injuries of at least 506 others, reportedly while they were trying to reach food distribution points in Rafah and Deir al Balah.

According to health officials in Gaza, Israeli forces have killed more than 55,000 Palestinians — most of whom were children, women, and the elderly — and injured more than 127,000 others in their attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 2023. However, the true numbers of fatalities are estimated to be much higher. The identified dead include more than 15,000 children, 463 aid workers, 319 UN staff members, 1,580 healthcare workers, and 224 journalists.

United Nations relief chief Tom Fletcher on Monday called on the international community to defend international humanitarian law (IHL), demand the protection of all civilians and break the cycle of violence in Gaza. Meanwhile, a growing number of legal experts and organizations are concluding that Israeli actions in Gaza and those targeting Palestinians as a group in the territory amount to genocide.

The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Sunday issued a stark warning about the deepening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli authorities maintain a blockade on the delivery of humanitarian aid and commercial goods for more than two months. In a statement, HCT, which coordinates relief efforts in Gaza and the West Bank, also condemned Israeli efforts to dismantle the current aid system.

Despite a temporary lull in fighting, United Nations officials warned the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Yemen remains gripped by escalating regional tensions, that are derailing prospects for a lasting peace, a deepening economic collapse and a worsening humanitarian crisis that continues to devastate civilians, especially children. Half of Yemen's children - some 2.3 million - are malnourished, with 600,000 of them suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

A new shocking record of 383 aid workers killed in 2024 must be a wake-up call to protect all civilians in conflict and crisis, and to end impunity, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday, marking World Humanitarian Day. Most of the aid workers killed last year were national staff members who were attacked in the line of duty or in their homes while serving their communities.

The United Nations and humanitarian partners on Monday launched the 2025 humanitarian and refugee response plans for Sudan, appealing for a combined US$6 billion to support nearly 26 million people inside the country and in the wider region. Nearly two years of war have created a catastrophic crisis, uprooting more than 12.6 million people inside Sudan and across borders into other countries.

Six days after a devastating earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, the full extent of the damage is coming to light, particularly in the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar. According to the United Nations, more than 2,200 people have been confirmed dead, at least 3,640 have been injured, and over 6,750 houses have been destroyed, which has affected at least 500,000 people, according to the European Union. As the situation unfolds, however, these figures are likely to rise, as unofficial figures communicated by the Taliban already indicate.

After an 11-week total blockade of humanitarian and commercial goods into the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities have temporarily allowed the resumption of limited aid deliveries since Monday. While the entry of some trucks has been welcomed as a positive development, as of Wednesday night none of the supplies had reached those in need, amid extreme deprivation throughout the territory.