UN chief warns humanitarian system 'running on empty' as emergency fund faces sharp drop in funding

​​​​​​​HAMILTON, Canada

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that the global humanitarian system is being pushed to its limits as funding for the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) falls to its lowest in a decade.

"We meet in very difficult times," Guterres said told the High-Level Pledging Event for 2026 CERF, stressing that "humanitarian needs are rising" while "crises are multiplying."

He cautioned that "the humanitarian system’s tank is running on empty, with millions of lives hanging in the balance."

Guterres underscored CERF's role as the UN’s "flexible, first-responder fund," noting that "since 2006, it has provided nearly 10 billion US dollars in life-saving assistance in more than 100 countries, working with over 20 UN agencies and hundreds of partners and reaching tens of millions of people every year."

Highlighting the fund's speed and reliability, he said: "CERF works, because it is fast, flexible and fair, often arriving before other sources of support," adding that "in many places, CERF has made the difference between life-saving help and no help at all."

But the UN chief warned that the system is now facing its "greatest test," with donor contributions in 2025 dropping "sharply, like never before."

He said projected contributions for this year "are expected to be the lowest since 2015, a dangerous trend that weakens our ability to respond," leading to preventable deaths, hunger and loss of essential services.

"This is a moment when we are asked to do more and more, with less and less," he said, noting that "this is simply unsustainable."

Guterres urged member states to help reach the General Assembly-endorsed target of $1 billion and maintain predictable funding.

"In creating CERF 20 years ago, the international community made a simple promise: when disaster strikes, help will come," he said.

Tom Fletcher, the UN's humanitarian chief, echoed the alarm, warning that "brutal cuts leave us to make brutal choices. We have been forced into a ruthless triage of human survival."

He stressed that the reality is why "the humanitarian reset matters: it’s not a slogan, it's a challenge, a mission, and a survival strategy. It’s about being smarter, faster, closer to communities and more honest about the trade-offs we face."

"At the center of this reset is the CERF," Fletcher said, noting that the needs next year make the fund "more than ever" indispensable.

Fletcher announced a $100 million allocation for the world's most underfunded emergencies, calling it "equivalent to almost a quarter of our projected income for 2025."

He said the funding "is about more than plugging gaps, it's about who gets help, when and why," and emphasized deeper local engagement and ensuring "women and girls, too often at greatest risk, are at the heart of the response."

"CERF is grappling with its lowest projected income in a decade," he stressed.

As CERF marks its 20th anniversary and celebrates "close to $10 billion allocated and millions of lives saved," Fletcher said the international community must honor its own commitments.

"That goal is not symbolic, it's essential," he said of the $1 billion funding target. "But right now, we are moving in the wrong direction."