UN News: You have said that policymakers who signed off on aid cuts should come to Afghanistan to see the effect they’re having on the population. You said the effect of aid cuts is that millions die. Do you use this kind of blunt language when you’re talking to these policymakers in private?

Tom Fletcher: Yes, I do. Of course, there is a bit of a time lag before you really see the impact of the cuts, but here, 400 clinics closed in the last few weeks. That has a real-world impact and it’s become much more real for me on this trip.

I’ve just come from a meeting with NGOs, and they’re laying off half their staff. The local NGO’s that we’re keen to protect in the midst of all this, have been the hardest hit.

We try and find different ways to communicate this in slightly gentler terms, but ultimately, of course, people will die as a result of these cuts.

That’s the great tragedy at the heart of it now.

UN News: How do the politicians respond?

I think there are broadly two camps here. You’ve got politicians who are doing this really reluctantly, forced to make really tough decisions because their economies are struggling and because of pressures from taxpayers to do things differently. They know the importance of humanitarian efforts and they’re very sad about the choices they’re having to make.

Then there is another group of politicians who, I fear, celebrate, certainly in their public messages. They seem to boast about – and take credit for – aid cuts. That’s the group that I would love to bring to sit with a mother who has lost her child because she was forced to cycle pregnant to a hospital three hours away.

You show leadership on the world stage by being out there helping countries to deal with these challenges at source. I don’t know which of those arguments work with which constituencies, so we have to adapt and be creative in how we make the case.

We also have to be firm in defending what we do and take pride in the fact that the humanitarian community has taken millions out of poverty and saved hundreds of millions of lives.

UN News: You’ve become the UN emergency relief chief at a particularly tough time, in terms of ensuring the UN’s ability to help the most vulnerable. In February you announced 20 per cent cuts to your department. How will you make those cuts in a way that doesn’t make the job even harder?

Tom Fletcher: It’s rough. Really brutal choices are being made and the sector will probably shrink by one third. The money that’s been cut isn’t going to come back anytime soon, and there may be more funding cuts ahead.

We will be looking for new partners, and trying to convince the sceptics to bring the private sector in and change the public conversation around solidarity. We have to work with the money that we have, not the money that we need or the money that we wish we had.

I’m really positive about the way that Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, has talked about the need to protect life-saving aid 

Dialogue is going on, I’m not giving up and I’m really positive about the way that Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, has talked about the need to protect life-saving aid. I really want to get into that conversation with him and see what his vision is for America’s role in saving lives around the world.

UN News: Given the current situation, are we going to have to completely rethink what aid entails and how it’s funded?

Tom Fletcher: We’re going to have to change. We have to preserve the best of what we’ve learnt and have confidence in what we’ve delivered so far, but we’re going through a process now that we call the “humanitarian reset”.

First of all, we’re becoming smaller and we’re trying to do that in a way that does as little damage as possible and minimises the hit to the essential life-saving work we do.

Alongside that, we’re becoming more efficient and smarter. I launched on my first day in office, a big efficiency drive across the sector.

The IASC, the body that coordinates our sector, has backed that up and actually taken it to the next level in terms of taking the layers out of the system and making sure we end the turf wars and focus on what we each do well, the extra value we bring, and ensure that we do much more at a local level, close to the communities we serve.

UN News: Do many Member States still believe in the importance of international aid?

Tom Fletcher: Absolutely. A number of donors are staying solid despite the funding crises that they’re all facing. We’ve got new donors emerging and growing. I’ve been in The Gulf, and I was in China last week, and engagement there is deepening.

We’ve got new donors emerging, and engagement is deepening

We’ve got more innovative ideas about how to bring in the private sector and also I believe really strongly in the role of individuals in finding ways to ensure that we’re reaching wider movement beyond governments and Member States.

UN News: Returning to Afghanistan, the de facto authorities [The Taliban] have severely reduced access to education and employment prospects for women and girls. Are you able to have a constructive discussion about this with the regime?

Tom Fletcher: Yes, we are. There are two really core issues here for us. One is the role of women in humanitarian work: we simply cannot deliver without them. They are brilliant, brilliant colleagues, we rely on them completely and we couldn’t be here without them.

And the second is the wider issue around rights for women and girls, including education and the fact that millions of girls have had that right stolen from them over the last three years.

These are difficult conversations, but I come at this as a former diplomat, as someone who believes in dialogue, who believes in respect and trust and listening, and in recognizing that we have different cultures, different traditions, different heritages and different beliefs that I don’t hold.

Tom Fletcher, the UN humanitarian meets women at an economic development programme in Afghanistan.

UN News: Before you began this job, did you have a goal in mind, that you want to achieve before the end of your mandate as the head of humanitarian affairs?

Tom Fletcher: The average head of OCHA lasts about three years, they burn through us pretty quickly. The travel schedule is very hectic and you’re dealing with the world’s worst crises so there’s a bit of wear and tear along the way.

It’s our job to save hundreds of millions of lives and to define everything we do against that yardstick

So, my number one objective was to survive as long as possible, because I think it’s traumatic for an organization to get new people in, train them and have them up and running. Being around for a period of time, learning from the organization and from those we serve, and then putting that into action is a serious objective in itself.

I did come into it with an objective around the reform of the humanitarian sector, well before Donald Trump, Elon Musk and others started talking about efficiency and prioritization and cuts. I do believe that we can do this much more effectively and much closer to those we serve and so I was already determined to deliver that.

And then thirdly, the big one is ultimately about saving lives. I believe it’s our job to save hundreds of millions of lives and to define everything we do against that yardstick. 

Speaking from Gaza City OCHA spokesperson Olga Cherevko told journalists in Geneva that a friend of hers “saw people burning a few days ago from the explosions – and there was no water to save them.”

Since all entry points into the war-torn enclave were “sealed by the Israeli authorities for the entry of cargo” in March, the “worst-case scenario” was triggered, Ms. Cherevko said: supplies are depleting while the conflict rages on.

“Food stocks have now mainly run out, water access has become impossible,” she told journalists in Geneva.

As the veteran aid worker spoke, she noted that a “very violent fight” for access to water was taking place downstairs from her, with people throwing rocks and firing shots at a water truck which was pulling away.

No childhood

The OCHA spokesperson said that every day she was seeing children “who have been deprived of their childhood for many months,” and elderly people “rummaging through piles of trash” in search of food and combustible material for cooking, in the absence of fuel.

During a visit on Thursday to Patient Friends Hospital, a paediatric hospital in Gaza City which had been attacked several times during the war, she heard reports of rising malnutrition rates.

“Hospitals report running out of blood units, as mass casualties continue to arrive,” Ms. Cherevko stressed, while precious fuel is being rationed.

Running on empty

“Gaza is inching closer to running on empty,” she added.

Ms. Cherevko said that UN humanitarians are “in constant contact” with the Israeli authorities and are advocating for border crossings to reopen. “We have mechanisms that mitigate diversion [and] ensure that aid reaches the people it’s intended to reach,” she said.

“We are ready to resume delivery at scale as soon as the crossings reopen, Ms. Cherevko insisted. “We stand by our pledge to remain principled and continue relieving people’s suffering, wherever they may be.”

In an appeal to the Israeli authorities on Thursday, the UN’s top humanitarian official and OCHA chief Tom Fletcher said, “Lift this brutal blockade. Let humanitarians save lives”.

Mr. Fletcher reaffirmed the urgent need for the release of hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October 2023, who “should never have been taken from their families” and stressed that “aid, and the civilian lives it saves, should never be a bargaining chip”.

Generational horror

Ms. Cherevko said that over the past one and a half months, 420,000 people have been “once again forced to flee, many of them with only the clothes on their backs, shot at along the way, arriving in overcrowded shelters, as tents and other facilities where people seek safety, are being bombed”.

“I worry that five, 10, 20 years from now, we will look at our children and grandchildren in shame and we will not be able to explain to them why we could not stop this horror,” she concluded.

“How much more blood must be spilled before enough becomes enough?”

UN rights chief urges international action

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights appealed on Friday for the world to prevent the total collapse of life-saving support in Gaza.

“As the complete blockade of assistance essential for survival enters its ninth week, there must be concerted international efforts to stop this humanitarian catastrophe from reaching a new unseen level,” said Volker Türk.

War crimes warning

Bakeries have ceased operations as flour and fuel have run out, and remaining food stocks are being rapidly depleted.

“Any use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war constitutes a war crime, and so do all forms of collective punishment,” he warned.

Against proposed Rafah ‘humanitarian zone’

The High Commissioner and head of human rights office OHCHR denounced a reported Israeli plan to declare Rafah governorate in southern Gaza as a new “humanitarian zone.”

Palestinians would be required to move there to receive food and other aid.

“Such a plan will almost certainly mean large parts of Gaza and those who cannot easily move – including people with disabilities, those who are sick or injured, and women supporting entire families – will be forced to go without food,” he said.

Gazans queue for food in January 2025 when it was more widely available in the enclave.

Strikes on shelters

Meanwhile, Israel continues to strike locations in Gaza where Palestinian civilians are sheltering. Between 18 March and 27 April, OHCHR recorded 259 attacks on residential buildings and 99 on tents of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Most attacks resulted in fatalities, including of women and children. Among the strikes on IDP tents, 40 reportedly took place in Al-Mawasi area, where the Israeli army repeatedly directed civilians to seek refuge. 

With humanitarian resources running dry, critical support for millions of forcibly displaced people is under threat.

UNHCR said that two-thirds of countries hosting refugees are already severely overstretched and urgently need support to continue providing education, healthcare and shelter.

Global solidarity with those fleeing conflict and violence is weakening, the agency added.

‘No one wants to be a refugee for life’

“The safety that refugees seek in neighbouring countries is at risk,” said Elizabeth Tan, Director of International Protection at UNHCR.

“Without international solidarity and burden-sharing, the institution of asylum is under threat.”

Ms Tan noted that some 12,000 Central African refugees in Chad and Cameroon have expressed a desire to return home but cannot do so safely without transport and reintegration assistance.

“No one wants to be a refugee for life,” she said.

Lifesaving services

Marking the agency’s 75th anniversary, Ms Tan reminded journalists that refugees – unlike migrants – have lost the protection of their home countries.

“They arrive across borders traumatised, often after experiencing torture or persecution, and they need specialised support – including mental health care,” she said.

Children separated from their families face especially grave risks, including recruitment by armed groups, exploitation and trafficking.

Protecting them, Ms Tan stressed, “is not a luxury – it is lifesaving.”

The 28 March quakes killed over 3,800 people and damaged or destroyed more than 55,000 homes across multiple regions, including Bago, Kayin, Magway, Mandalay, Southern Shan, Naypyitaw and Sagaing.

Families already displaced by years of conflict now face early torrential rains, extreme heat and rising risk of disease. Nearly 20 million people – more than a third of the population – needed assistance even before the earthquakes.

Unremitting violence

Despite the scale of the disaster, High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned on Friday that the Myanmar military has launched at least 243 attacks – including 171 airstrikes – since the massive tremors.

Most of the attacks occurred after 2 April, despite both the military and the opposition National Unity Government (NUG) announcing unilateral ceasefires which were largely unobserved.

“It is imperative that the military immediately stop all attacks on civilians and civilian objects,” he said in his statement, calling for a genuine and permanent nationwide halt to hostilities and a return to civilian rule.

He underscored the need to put the people of Myanmar first, prioritise their rights, and achieve a peaceful resolution.

“Instead of further futile investment in military force, the focus must be on the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in Myanmar,” Mr. Türk said.

Delays putting lives at risk

UN humanitarians in the country also warn that the situation remains dire.

Speaking to journalists in New York via video link from Yangon, Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim Marcoluigi Corsi said that one month on, people are still living in the open and facing increasingly difficult conditions.

“The suffering is immense and the stakes are very high,” he said on Thursday, urging the international community to translate funding pledges into rapid, large-scale support.

“Every delay means more lives at risk and more communities in Myanmar struggling to rebuild.”

Lack of funding imperils response

Agencies have reached 600,000 people with water, sanitation and hygiene services. They have also provided nearly 500,000 people with food assistance and over 100,000 with emergency shelter.

But the response remains constrained by severe underfunding.

Mr. Corsi called on donors to urgently disburse their pledged amounts. Without timely action, the crisis would get worse, he warned.

“Lives depend on our collective commitment to delivering the support that is desperately needed…the time to act is now,” he said.

The $275 million addendum to the 2025 humanitarian response plan has received just $34 million – or about 12 per cent – leaving affected communities without assistance.

Disease outbreak risk

According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO) over 450,000 people require critical health services, but only about 33,600 have been reached so far.  

Disease outbreaks are also a growing concern as nine of the 20 townships most at risk for cholera fall within earthquake-affected areas. Stagnant water from delayed rubble removal is creating mosquito breeding grounds, driving up the risk of malaria and dengue.  

Limited access to medicines and medical supplies are further straining already overstretched health facilities.