11 March 2017, 22:27 GMT
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Thursday, the White House released US President Donald Trump’s budget plan for 2018, which proposes reducing contributions by nearly 50 percent to the UN and its affiliated humanitarian agencies.
“The potential funding cuts could undermine the response of relevant United Nations agencies such as the World Food Program (WFP) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),” Cone said.
Cone made clear that MSF is privately funded by more than 5.7 million individual donors and does not accept any money from the US government.
He added that their organization has already identified disparities in the quality and quantity of assistance in conflicts such as Syria, Yemen and South Sudan.
“A collapse in funding for humanitarian aid could expose even greater gaps in care for people in the most difficult and dangerous conflict zones,” Cone noted.
Department of State Acting Spokesperson Mark Toner said in a briefing on Thursday that the United States will continue to fund the UN but wants to see other countries contribute.
