UN agencies that provide aid worldwide slash jobs or cut costs as funding drops

Several U.N. agencies that provide aid to children, refugees and other vulnerable people around the world are slashing jobs or cutting costs in other ways, with officials pointing to funding reductions mainly from the United States and warning that vital relief programs will be severely affected as a result.

The U.N. World Food Program is expected to cut up to 30% of its staff. The head of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said it would downsize its headquarters and regional offices to reduce costs by 30% and cut senior-level positions by 50%.

One WFP official called the cuts “the most massive” seen by the agency in the past 25 years, and that as a result, operations will disappear or be downsized.

World Food Program

The WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian organization, received nearly half of its funding from the United States in 2024. The WFP internal memo said personnel cuts will “impact all geographies, divisions and levels” in the agency.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees

The U.N.'s top refugee agency provides help to some 43.7 million refugees worldwide, along with others among the 122 million people driven from their homes by conflicts and natural disasters. It said in a statement that the agency will “have to significantly reduce our workforce,” including downsizing the headquarters and regional offices.

UNICEF

The U.N. children’s agency projects that its funding will be at least 20% less in 2025 compared with 2024. “Hard-earned gains and future progress for children are at risk because of a global funding crisis in which some donors are sharply decreasing their financial support”