UN launches $33B aid appeal for 2026 to support 135M people

ISTANBUL

The UN on Monday launched its $33 billion “Life By Life” humanitarian appeal for 2026, aiming to support 135 million people, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced.

“The UN and partners today launched their global humanitarian appeal to save millions of lives where shocks hit hardest – in wars, climate disasters, earthquakes, epidemics and where crop failures occur,” an OCHA statement said.

The agency emphasized that its “immediate priority” is securing $23 billion to save 87 million people, with the total climbing to $33 billion in 2026 to reach 135 million individuals “through 23 country operations and six plans for refugees and migrants.”

“We’re shifting power to local organizations, putting more money directly into the hands of the people who need it, and behind it all, we are renewing and reimagining humanitarian action with idealism, humility and hope,” UN Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher said.

OCHA stressed that funding for the 2025 aid appeal was the "lowest in a decade" with $12 billion and the humanitarians reached "25 million less people than in 2024" due to "brutal" funding cuts.

“The consequences were immediate: hunger surged, health systems came under crushing strain, education fell away, mine clearance stalled and families faced blow after blow: no shelter, no cash assistance, no protection services,” the statement added.

The largest individual response plan in the 2026 appeal is for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with $4.1 billion required to support 3 million people “who have faced shocking levels of violence and destruction.”

“In Sudan, the world’s largest displacement crisis, $2.9 billion is needed for 20 million people. The largest of the regional plans is for Syria at $2.8 billion for 8.6 million people,” OCHA said.

OCHA said Member States will be asked to lend their support and use their influence to strengthen the protection of civilians in armed conflicts "by holding perpetrators – and those arming them – to account."

“I will then share the amounts committed and answer a simple question: did governments show up?” Fletcher said, adding: “The answer will define who lives and who falls through the cracks.”