GENEVA, Jan 29 (Bernama-dpa) -- The UN agency that helps refugees, asylum seekers and people forcibly displaced within their own countries have been put on a savings drive after US President Donald Trump ordered a suspension of humanitarian assistance, according to German news agency dpa.
"While we are still assessing the impact of the new US administration’s decision, including possible exceptions, we are implementing a series of temporary precautionary measures to mitigate the impact of this funding uncertainty," said a spokeswoman for the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, on Wednesday.
The British newspaper The Guardian earlier reported that UNHCR head Filippo Grandi had sent an email that instructed staff to temporarily halt recruitment and international travel.
Grandi also halted orders of new supplies, except when needed for emergency assistance, the newspaper reported.
The UNHCR refused to comment on the email.
The United States contributes around a fifth of the budget of the organisation, which has around 20,000 employees and takes care of more than 120 million refugees worldwide.
In 2024, the US paid just over US$2 billion to the UNHCR.
The US State Department announced the temporary freeze of foreign aid on Sunday, but there is confusion in Washington and abroad over which programmes are affected.
-- BERNAMA-dpa
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