UN’s humanitarian agency will cut 20% of its staff.

The United Nations’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is experiencing a severe funding crisis leading to staff reductions. OCHA plans to dismiss 20% of its employees and reduce its operations in nine countries. This decision was communicated by OCHA head Tom Fletcher in a letter to staff.

Fletcher’s letter highlighted the severe funding shortfall of nearly $60 million at OCHA, leading to significant cuts in operations. This financial strain coincides with a rising demand for OCHA’s services in the face of a deepening global humanitarian crisis. Consequently, OCHA plans to streamline operations, impacting approximately 500 employees out of a workforce spanning 60 countries.

Fletcher emphasized OCHA’s shift to a “lighter, faster” approach focusing on crisis response, sector reform, and humanitarian leadership amid the funding crisis backdrop. This aligns with the UN’s broader “Humanitarian Reset” plan and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s UN80 reform initiative.

Aid groups are worried about reducing operations and laying off employees. The Al Amal Association spokesperson cautioned that OCHA’s cuts might impact humanitarian efforts in Iraq, particularly those for women’s rights. She also noted the possibility of having to let go of their own staff without OCHA’s support.

Sources News From Various Digital Platforms, Websites, Journalists, And Agencies.