By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The United Nations has allocated $48 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to sustain humanitarian air operations in Nigeria and seven other countries amid a worsening global funding crisis.
The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, approved the allocation on Thursday, 9 April, 2026 in New York to keep the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) operational in Nigeria, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria, thereby ensuring continued access to hard-to-reach communities.
A UN spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said the air service remains critical to humanitarian operations, particularly in conflict-affected areas where access is limited.
“UNHAS is a lifeline, helping aid workers and critical supplies reach people in need,” he said.
However, he warned that shrinking humanitarian funding could disrupt operations if additional support is not secured.
Dujarric noted that the allocation was made possible by a recent $2 billion contribution from the United States to UN-managed humanitarian funds.
The intervention follows earlier disruptions in Nigeria, where the UN in September 2025 suspended its fixed-wing operations after exhausting available funds, cutting off a key access route for aid workers in the conflict-hit North-East.
Consequently, the funding crisis has already forced the World Food Programme to warn of possible cuts to emergency food and nutrition support for about 1.3 million people in the region.
Data from the UN show that in 2024, the service transported over 9,000 passengers, while in 2025, more than 4,500 humanitarian workers relied on the flights to reach isolated communities in North-East Nigeria.
Accordingly, the latest allocation is expected to stabilise operations and sustain humanitarian access across affected regions.
