“The practical reality is clear: unless collections drastically improve, we cannot fully execute the 2026 program budget approved in December,” Guterres wrote. “Worse, based on historical trends, regular budget cash could run out by July.”
Guterres, who will step down at the end of 2026, gave his last annual speech this month setting out his priorities for the coming year, saying the world was plagued by “self-defeating geopolitical divisions (and) flagrant violations of international law”.
He also condemned “wholesale cuts to development and humanitarian assistance” – an apparent reference to the deep cuts made by the United States to the budgets of UN agencies under the Trump administration’s “America First” policies.