UN facing cash crunch as member states fail to pay dues

The US is the largest contributor to the UN and owes $1.5 billion

The UN on Wednesday revealed it is facing a cash crisis exacerbated by delayed payments from member states and further strained by the nationalist policies of US President Donald Trump.

Launching an efficiency initiative coinciding with the world body’s 80th anniversary, Secretary General Antonio Guterres said financial resources have been shrinking for some time.

“For at least the past seven years, the United Nations has faced a liquidity crisis because not all member states pay in full, and many also do not pay on time,” he said.

In the wake of the US decision to halt nearly all foreign humanitarian aid – a substantial portion of which had previously financed UN programmes and agencies – there are growing concerns about the potential implications for global aid efforts.

Fears are also mounting that Mr Trump may further reduce the US financial contribution to the UN, echoing similar cuts made during his first term in office. These developments add layers of complexity to an already challenging landscape for international aid and diplomatic relations.

As of now, the UN said only 75 of the 193 member states have settled their dues in full for the regular budget of 2025. The UN's budget is in arrears by more than $2.8 billion – more than half of which ($1.5 billion) is owed by the US.

“These are times of intense uncertainty and unpredictability. And yet certain truths have never been more clear: The United Nations has never been more needed,” Mr Guterres said. “Budgets at the United Nations are not just numbers on a balance sheet. They are a matter of life and death for millions around the world.”

He disputed suggestions that the UN efficiency drive parallels Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency organisation, better known as Doge.

This has “nothing to do with that kind of initiative". "We are talking about completely different processes, methodologies and objectives. This is a continuation and an intensification of work that we have always been doing,” he told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.