UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher praised Canada’s aid and advocacy in Ottawa while urging member states to hold themselves to account for conflicts driving hunger and restricting relief.
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Tom Fletcher, the head of the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said Canada has become a “humanitarian superpower” during a Monday visit to Ottawa.
Fletcher used the occasion to call for accountability as wars continue to compound hunger and block humanitarian assistance across multiple crises, including Sudan and Gaza. He said a funding shortfall is being made worse as conflicts spread hunger and obstruct relief efforts.
In Sudan, Fletcher said roughly 19 million people are living with acute hunger. He warned the situation could worsen due to changing weather patterns and the impact of the U.S. war in Iran on supply routes.
Fletcher also pointed to restrictions on humanitarian access in Sudan, where he said warring parties in the now three-year-old civil war have banned aid workers from certain areas based on how they perceive local loyalties.
Regarding Gaza, Fletcher said he worries about practices implemented by the Israeli government that he described as including barring journalists and drastically restricting aid flows. He said those measures can “undermine international law elsewhere” and contribute to a wider “climate of impunity” across humanitarian crises.
Fletcher said UN agencies and large organizations face sustained criticism from supporters of Israel who argue the UN is downplaying groups such as Hamas. He said he believes it is important not to yield to pressure to change reporting, reduce criticism or alter advocacy, adding that “We just have to be consistent here.”
He also said technology is changing how wars are fought, and that drones are being used more frequently against civilians in places including Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon. Fletcher described the trend as “terrifying” and said member states need to hold themselves and each other to account.
Fletcher praised Canada’s advocacy and foreign aid funding, saying it is “saving millions of lives every year from Sudan to Afghanistan, to Gaza, to Ukraine, to Haiti and beyond.” He also said he has felt Canada “does have our back” when humanitarian staff feel exposed.
On Tuesday, Fletcher met with Randeep Sarai, Canada’s secretary of state for international development, who announced the renewal of $6 million in federal funding to help coordinate global emergency responses.
The remarks came amid discussion of changes to Canada’s foreign aid approach since Prime Minister Mark Carney took office, including cuts to global health programs, a push for more private-sector investment in aid and related spinoffs for Canadian companies, and the removal of the “feminist” label from Canada’s foreign policy.
A Canadian coalition of aid groups, Co-operation Canada, said the sector supports reforms but urged Ottawa not to cut development and humanitarian funding further. Coalition head Kate Higgins said the government’s national security strategy calls for “strong international partnerships and a disciplined foreign policy,” adding that Canada could express that through sustained humanitarian funding and leadership in upholding international humanitarian law.
Looking ahead, Fletcher said Canada will chair a donor support group next July that consults with other rich countries on how the UN uses humanitarian funding. He described the chair role as an opportunity for a “reimagination” of what humanitarian aid looks like, including reaching beyond traditional aid partners toward technology companies and the private sector.
Fletcher also said that while UN agencies have a crucial role, some places with internet connectivity and functioning markets could benefit more from cash transfers or from health-care programs supported by private companies that can make a profit.
He said Darfur is an example of a complex hunger crisis where UN agencies and larger organizations are important, while insisting multiple approaches may be needed as conditions vary by location.
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