Tag Archives: budget

United Nations Revises 2026 Budget, Pairing Cost Reductions With Reforms

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UN Budget Cuts and Reform Proposals Sent to ACABQ for Review

The United Nations has submitted revised budget estimates to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), proposing a 15.1 per cent reduction in resources and an 18.8 per cent cut in posts in the regular budget compared with 2025. The support account for peacekeeping operations, which underpins missions worldwide, would also see reductions in the 2025/26 period.

The ACABQ, a subsidiary body advising the General Assembly, will assess the proposals before forwarding its recommendations to the Fifth Committee, where all 193 Member States decide on administrative and budgetary matters.

Targeted Reductions

In a letter to Member States, Secretary-General António Guterres explained that the cuts followed an extensive review of mandate delivery and resource allocation. Stressing that reductions were “targeted, not across the board,” he said they had been carefully calibrated to maintain balance across the UN’s three pillars—peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development.

Programmes that directly support Member States—particularly least developed, landlocked, and small island developing States—along with Africa’s development advocacy, the Peacebuilding Fund, and the Resident Coordinator system, will be shielded from reductions. Regional economic commissions will see only modest adjustments, while the Regular Programme for Technical Cooperation will continue to expand to strengthen capacity-building for developing countries.

“Reductions of this magnitude will entail trade-offs,” Guterres wrote, noting possible impacts such as narrowed scope, longer timelines, or reduced frequency of outputs. Mitigation measures will include prioritising high-impact work, pooling expertise, and relying more on virtual platforms and automation.

Reform Measures Under the UN80 Initiative

The budget revision is closely tied to the UN80 Initiative, launched in March 2025 to strengthen the Organisation amid rising global political and financial uncertainty. Alongside the cuts, the revised estimates introduce the first set of proposals under Workstream 1, focused on management and operations.

Key measures include:

  • Establishing administrative hubs in New York and Bangkok.

  • Consolidating payroll into a single global team across New York, Entebbe, and Nairobi.

  • Relocating some functions from high-cost duty stations (New York and Geneva) to lower-cost locations.

  • Vacating two leased New York buildings by 2027, with projected annual savings from 2028.

Collectively, these reforms aim to cut duplication, enhance quality, and protect mandate delivery while improving efficiency.

Three Workstreams of Reform

The UN80 Initiative is structured around three workstreams:

  1. Efficiencies and management improvements – now reflected in the revised estimates, with further measures to come.

  2. Mandate Implementation Review – a report submitted in August is under review by a new Informal Ad Hoc Working Group, meeting on 16 September.

  3. System-wide realignments – proposals on structural and programmatic clusters will be presented later this week.

Together, the workstreams signal a major reorientation of UN operations, aimed at ensuring effectiveness, credibility, and sustainability.

Next Steps and Staff Engagement

The ACABQ will begin hearings this week before passing its recommendations to the Fifth Committee, with a final General Assembly decision expected by December. If approved, changes would be phased in starting 2026, with future budget cycles reflecting additional reforms from the UN80 workstreams.

In a separate letter to UN staff, Guterres acknowledged that the changes will affect daily work and professional life but pledged full support throughout the transition. “You will be fully engaged and supported throughout the process,” he assured, promising regular communication, consultation opportunities, and practical guidance.

Acknowledging the difficulty of the decisions, the Secretary-General emphasised accountability—beginning with him, but also extending to managers and staff. He urged that reforms be carried out with fairness, empathy, and professionalism, underscoring the shared responsibility of upholding UN values during the transition.

 

General Assembly approves $5.4 billion UN peacekeeping budget for 2025-2026

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Acting on the recommendation of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), the Assembly endorsed the budgets for 12 missions, the logistics centres in Entebbe (Uganda) and Brindisi (Italy), and the support account for peacekeeping.

The budgets were adopted without a vote, except for the resolution on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which was adopted by 147 votes in favour to 3 against (Argentina, Israel, and United States), with 1 abstention (Paraguay).

The adoption of UNIFIL’s budget followed an Israeli-proposed oral amendment, which was rejected by 5 votes in favour (Argentina, Canada, Israel, Paraguay, and US) to 83 against, with 57 abstentions.

Last year, the peacekeeping budget stood at $5.59 billion for 14 operations, meaning the 2025-2026 figure reflects a modest decrease, following final settlements of former missions in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia.

Pressing liquidity challenges

Despite the agreement on the budgets, UN Controller Chandramouli Ramanathan outlined a sobering picture about the fragility of the UN’s broader liquidity situation.

“You manage somehow to find common ground three times a year. But I only wish you had gone a little bit further to solve one of the underlying problems of the UN, which has been plaguing us for 80 years,” he told delegates last week as they concluded negotiations in the Fifth Committee.

He described how approved budgets are often undermined by cash shortages, forcing immediate instructions to slash spending by 10, 15, or even 20 per cent.

“No money, no implementation. There is not enough cash. I cannot emphasize enough a massive effort needed on your side to somehow take us over that line and deal with a problem that’s plagued the UN for the last so many years,” he said.

UN peacekeeping operations

UN peacekeeping remains one of the most iconic UN activities, with nearly 70,000 military, police and civilian personnel deployed across Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Missions include long-standing deployments such as MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNFICYP in Cyprus, and MINUSCA in the Central African Republic. Mandated by the Security Council, these operations work to stabilize conflict zones, support political processes, protect civilians, and assist in disarmament and rule-of-law efforts.

UN’s peacekeeping budget is separate from its regular budget, which supports the Organization’s core programs, including human rights, development, political affairs, communications and regional cooperation.

The peacekeeping budget cycle runs from July-June, while the regular budget is aligned with the calendar year.

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‘The margins of the budget’: Gender equality in developing countries underfunded by $420 billion annually

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“The money simply is not reaching the women and girls who need it most,” UN Women said in a news release issued on Monday.  

This estimate comes in the midst of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development underway in Sevilla, Spain.

There, world leaders are working to revitalize the international financing structure to better support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of which is gender equality.  

“We cannot close gender gaps with budgets that are lacking a gender lens … Gender equality must move from the margins of the budget lines to the heart of public policy,” said Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women.

Move from promise to action

In order to remedy this shortfall, UN Women said that the world needs a decade of targeted and consistent investment to end gender gaps and ensure that no one is left behind.

This includes expanding gender-responsive budgeting which carefully tracks where funding is most needed and supporting programs which target those areas.

Currently, three-fourths of countries do not have systems to track the allocation of public funds in relation to gender equality.  

Specifically, investment in public care systems – such as child and elder care programmes – is essential to ensuring that women can enter the workforce.

Overwhelmed by debt

Additionally, UN Women called for urgent debt relief, citing that many countries are so burdened by debt financing that they cannot dedicate money to advancing gender equality.  

In this vein, UN Women welcomed the Compromiso de Sevilla, the outcome of the Conference adopted by Member States, which lays out new commitments to development financing, including on promoting gender equality.

Ms. Gumbonzvanda emphasised the need for governments to back the commitments they made in this document with real action.  

“[Gender equality] takes money. It takes reform. And it takes leadership that sees women not as a cost, but as a future.”

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UN’s lifesaving programmes under threat as budget crisis hits hard

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Member States had paid just $1.8 billion towards the UN’s $3.7 billion regular budget for 2025, as of 9 May. Including unpaid contributions from previous years, total unpaid assessments stand at approximately $2.4 billion as of 30 April.

The United States is the largest debtor at about $1.5 billion, as the Trump Administration is withholding funds to cut what it sees as unnecessary spending.

Other major contributors with unpaid dues include China ($597 million), Russia ($72 million), Saudi Arabia ($42 million), Mexico ($38 million) and Venezuela ($38 million). An additional $137 million is yet to be paid by other Member States.

The UN’s separate peacekeeping budget faces a similar crisis, with $2.7 billion in unpaid assessments as of 30 April.

Amidst the fiscal challenges, Secretary-General António Guterres in March launched the UN80 initiative to improve efficiency, streamline operations and reduce costs – including a possible 20 per cent staff cut through eliminating duplication.

Women, health, refugee support at risk

The situation is equally concerning at UN agencies and programmes, which have their own budgets and funding channels.  

The UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, for instance has warned that women and girls in crisis zones – such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Sudan and Afghanistan – are already suffering from shrinking support.

Cuts have slashed the ability to hire midwives, supply essential medicines, deploy health teams, and provide safe spaces for survivors of sexual violence.

In Mozambique, nearly 750,000 displaced persons and refugees are in urgent need of protection, but the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warns it may have to suspend essential services, including healthcare, education, and support for survivors of gender-based violence, with only one-third of its funding appeal met.

HIV/AIDS programs are also at risk. In Tajikistan, UNAIDS Country Director Aziza Hamidova reports that 60 per cent of HIV programme support is in jeopardy. Community health centers have already closed, outreach has been cut, and access to PrEP testing and counseling has dropped sharply.

Dwindling funds for crisis response

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) – which leads UN’s response to crisis – is raising alarms over the cascading impact of funding gaps.

In Sudan, only 13 per cent of the $4.2 billion needed for 2025 has been received, forcing 250,000 children out of school. In the DRC, gender-based violence cases have surged 38 per cent, but programmes are shutting down. In Haiti, cholera response efforts risk collapse. Meanwhile, just 25 per cent of Ukraine’s 2025 humanitarian appeal has been funded, jeopardizing critical services.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of OCHA, Tom Fletcher, has already announced staff cuts and scaling back of some country programmes.

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Largely eradicated diseases at risk of returning due to budget cuts

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Cuts to global health funding are leading to a rise in outbreaks of diseases that vaccines had nearly wiped out, the UN health agency, WHO, is warning on Thursday.

In Africa’s “meningitis belt”, which spans parts of sub-Saharan Africa, vaccination campaigns had successfully eliminated meningitis A. Similarly, improved routine immunization and emergency vaccine stockpiles drastically reduced cases of yellow fever and related deaths.

But this progress is now at risk. “Funding cuts to global health have put these hard-won gains in jeopardy,” warned Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

Outbreaks on the rise

In 2023, measles cases were estimated at more than 10.3 million – a 20 per cent increase compared to 2022.

WHO, UN Children’s Fund UNICEF and their partners warned in a statement marking the beginning of World Immunization Week that this upward trend is expected to continue into 2025.

Yellow fever is also making a comeback. After years of declining cases in Africa thanks to improved vaccine access, 2025 has already seen a rise in outbreaks across the continent. Cases have also been confirmed in the Americas.

Misinformation threat

Vaccination efforts are increasingly under pressure due to a combination of misinformation, population growth, humanitarian crises, and funding cuts.

Earlier this month, a WHO review across 108 countries found that nearly half are experiencing moderate to severe disruptions to vaccination campaigns, routine immunisations, and supply chains due to falling donor support.

“The global funding crisis is severely limiting our ability to vaccinate over 15 million vulnerable children in fragile and conflict-affected countries against measles,” said Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF.

Vaccines offer high returns

Vaccines save around 4.2 million lives each year, protecting against 14 different diseases. Almost half of those lives are saved in Africa.

Despite this, falling investment now risks the re-emergence of diseases once thought to be under control.

Health experts emphasise that immunization is one of the most cost-effective health interventions. Every $1 invested in vaccines brings an estimated return of $54 through better health and economic productivity.

UNICEF, WHO, and their partners are calling on parents, the public, and political leaders to support immunization programmes and ensure long-term investment in vaccines and public health systems.

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