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UNITED NATIONS — <\/span>The Trump administration on Thursday announced $1.8 billion in additional funding for U.N. humanitarian aid, saying the money will be earmarked for life-saving aid to victims of natural disasters, famine and \u201cpeople who are truly in critical need.\u201d<\/p>\n The money will be allocated over the coming year and adds to the $2 billion that the Trump administration pledged<\/a> in December. Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said at a press conference that the new funding is just \u201cthe latest step.\u201d<\/p>\n The money is a fraction of what the U.S. has contributed in the past but reflects what President Donald Trump’s administration believes is still a generous amount that will maintain America\u2019s status as the world\u2019s largest humanitarian donor<\/a>. <\/p>\n The Trump administration has cut billions in U.S. foreign aid<\/a>, prompting U.N. agencies to slash spending, aid projects and thousands of jobs. Other traditional U.N. donors like Britain, France, Germany and Japan also have reduced aid allocations.<\/p>\n U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called his agency \u201coverstretched, underresourced and literally under attack\u201d and reiterated its 2026 plan to reach 87 million of the world\u2019s most needy at a cost of $23 billion \u2014 even though 300 million people need humanitarian help.<\/p>\n Before Waltz\u2019s announcement, he said, the U.N. had raised about $7.4 billion. He called the United States \u201cthe single largest national donor\u201d to the United Nations.<\/p>\n Waltz slammed what he called a narrative in the media that the U.S. has walked away from helping people in need, saying it’s “absolutely false.\u201d<\/p>\n Under Trump, the U.S. has been taking an \u00e0 la carte approach<\/a> to paying dues to the United Nations, picking which operations and agencies<\/a> it believes align with Trump\u2019s agenda and avoiding those that no longer serve U.S. interests<\/a>. The State Department has said \u201cindividual U.N. agencies will need to adapt, shrink, or die.\u201d <\/p>\n Critics say the Western aid cutbacks have been shortsighted, driven millions toward hunger<\/a>, displacement or disease, and harmed U.S. soft power<\/a> around the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n