The head of UN aid said cutting humanitarian relief could mean less help to people in Gaza, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and more.

Tom Fletcher, head of the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters that 300 million people need assistance, and the recent cuts to humanitarian aid funds have caused “earthquake shock” worldwide.

“Many people will die because this aid is drying up,” Fletcher, coordinator for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, said in a press conference on Wednesday.

“In the entire humanitarian community, the plan is now being stopped,” Fletcher said. “The staff are now relaxing. I think 10% of NGO colleagues were fired during the process in February,” referring to people working in NGOs.

Fletcher also specifically spoke of his recent visit to Gaza last month, saying that in Israel’s reblocking of all food, medicine, fuel and other goods entering the zone, “it has obviously been exhausted very, very quickly, very quickly”.

“Our not refueling means the incubator is shutting down, so this is already real and will soon become a humanitarian crisis again,” he said.

Fletcher, who described his visit to Gaza last month, said: “The first shocking thing I saw was the dogs walking through the rubble”.

“I don’t think there is anything to prepare you,” he said, referring to the wonders of stray dogs in Gaza, looking for the bodies of people trapped under the bombed buildings.

“Humanitarian Superpower”

Fletcher’s press conference comes days after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States had concluded. Cancel 83% The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program.

Fletcher pointed out that while the U.S. cuts to aid are the most intense, other countries are also cutting their relief budgets.

“It’s not just the U.S. government. I’m spending much more time than other donor capitals are trying to do for us,” he said.

“What I can say is that for years, the United States has been a humanitarian superpower, with American funds saving hundreds of millions of lives,” he added.

Former British ambassador to Lebanon Fletcher did not specify which countries specifically cut aid, but in late February, the UK announced it was Cut aid spending Increase spending on the military. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government will “full fund our investment in defense” by reducing aid spending from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in 2027.

Starmer said the change from aid to defence will cost the UK £13.4 billion ($17 billion) a year starting in 2027.

Several other countries have also reduced their aid spending, including the Dutch right-wing government, which announced in November last year that it would reduce its foreign aid budget by about one billion euros ($1.09 billion) within five years.

Fletcher said the response of the UN humanitarian agency to the prospect of reducing funding will focus on “completely essential lifesaving efforts” in dirty demand areas, including Gaza.

But some organizations are warning you about the impact.

The World Health Organization warned last week that our cuts could work to treat tuberculosis, the world’s “most acknowledged disease.”

Ebola monitoring work in Africa is Threatened As a non-governmental organization that has been passed USAID Forced to stop working.

Health experts and aid organizations have Warn In many African countries, U.S. funding cuts for HIV/AIDS programs could result in hundreds of thousands of deaths on the mainland.