The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations, has announced the suspension of its aid operations in nearly 20 countries due to a freeze on US funding under President Donald Trump’s administration.
In a statement released on Monday, the NRC stated, “For the first time in our history, (we) will have to suspend ongoing and urgent humanitarian work for hundreds of thousands of people in nearly 20 countries affected by wars, disasters, and displacement.”
The organization attributed this drastic measure to “the stop, partial suspension, or lack of reimbursement of United States funding for our global humanitarian operations.”
According to the NRC, US-supported programs helped “1.6 million people” in 2024 alone.
The United States accounted for “just under 20 percent or $150 million” of the agency’s total funding last year.
The funding freeze has already led to the suspension of “emergency support to 57,000 people in communities along the frontlines” in Ukraine.
The organization also warned that it is being “forced to lay off aid workers around the world,” including in Afghanistan, and would soon be unable to sustain “US-funded lifesaving humanitarian programmes” in Burkina Faso and Sudan’s Darfur region.
The NRC further disclosed that it has “millions of dollars in outstanding payment requests to the US government” and warned that without these funds, “hundreds of thousands of people” would be “left without vital assistance previously supported by US humanitarian funding.”
Since taking office last month, President Trump has ordered the suspension of foreign assistance and has called for the closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which oversees US humanitarian aid worldwide.
