UNITED NATIONS, April 25. /TASS/. The reduction of funding for international humanitarian activities by a number of donors has led to 'deadly' consequences worldwide, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

"More than 300 million people require life-saving support, just as funding is being slashed. The consequences are proving deadly," the office noted. It recalled that "in Afghanistan, 9 million people are at risk of going without healthcare; in Ukraine, winter cash assistance was suspended; in Yemen, safe spaces for women and girls are closing; in Burkina Faso, 300,000 people in a single town may soon lose access to clean water."

"Funding cuts, including from major donors, are already affecting humanitarian operations globally - dealing a seismic shock to the system," OCHA stressed. Critical services are no longer functioning, clinics are closing, and water supplies are running dry.

Humanitarian agencies are "laying off staff, closing offices and halting essential services." Local organizations, which manage 80% of crisis response, "are hardest hit, with many unable to pay staff or deliver aid." More than 60% of humanitarian organizations reported "significant losses in operational capacity, severely restricting their ability to deliver, and forcing impossible choices about who receives aid and who does not." OCHA reminded the global community that protecting civilians and providing adequate humanitarian support to those in need is "a moral imperative that requires immediate international action."

On April 15, the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is overseen by US entrepreneur Elon Musk, reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled grants to foreign countries totaling $215 million. According to him, it refers to projects in Belarus, Bulgaria, Brazil, the UK, Lebanon, Mauritania, Moldavia, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan.

Immediately after Donald Trump took office as US President, DOGE began a massive audit of spending from the US budget. Musk initially stated that he expected to cut government spending by $2 trillion. In later statements, he spoke of plans to reduce budget spending by $1 trillion or $150 billion. In fact, at Musk's suggestion, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was temporarily halted in order to reorganize it.