New York: Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, has allocated $48 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS).
The new funding will keep the UN Humanitarian Air Service operating in eight countries: Nigeria, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria, ensuring ongoing support across these regions.
This will allow thousands of humanitarian workers from the UN, NGOs, and civil society to continue their work.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told journalists at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday that UNHAS was a lifeline, helping aid workers and critical supplies reach people in need, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
However, Dujarric cautioned that with humanitarian funding shrinking, UNHAS could be forced to suspend its flights.
Dujarric said the allocation was possible because of a recent U.S. contribution of $2 billion to UN-managed humanitarian funds.
The UN had, in September 2025, halted its fixed-wing operations in Nigeria after running out of funds, cutting off a critical lifeline for aid workers in the country’s conflict-hit northeast.
This suspension, during the ongoing funding crisis, prompted WFP to warn of possible cuts to emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in Northeast Nigeria.
In 2024, the UN service transported over 9,000 passengers, and in 2025, over 4,500 humanitarian staff relied on the flights to reach communities cut off by conflict in northeast Nigeria.
