UN aid agencies cut back operations after Trump’s 90-day funding suspension

Exclusive: UNHCR chief orders clampdown on spending, including 90-day delay in ordering new supplies and hiring freeze

UN agencies have begun cutting back their global aid operations following the 90-day suspension of all foreign assistance ordered by the Trump administration.

Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, responsible for providing life-saving assistance to the 122 million people forcibly displaced from their homes across 136 countries, sent out an overnight email to employees ordering an immediate clampdown on expenditure, including a 90-day delay in ordering new supplies except for emergencies, a hiring and contract freeze, and a halt to all international air travel, as the agency tries to adapt to the US funding freeze.