Nigeria’s former permanent representative to the United Nations, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, has called for renewed global support to address the organisation’s financial and liquidity challenges.
He emphasised that strengthening the UN’s resources is vital to sustaining its operations and preventing disruptions that could affect staff and critical programmes worldwide.
The former External Affairs Minister made the appeal while delivering the lead-off remarks at the UNGA@80 Pact Innovation Forum High-Level Breakfast Dialogue, held on Wednesday in New York.
The event brought together senior UN officials, ambassadors, and representatives from various governments to discuss the implementation of the Pact for the Future, a major agreement adopted by member states earlier this year.
Gambari, who is the Chairman of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy, and Development, described the current period as a “consequential moment” for the UN, which is facing a cash deficit that may force the Secretariat to shed at least 20% of its staff.
He attributed the sudden escalation from a long-standing financial problem to an “extreme liquidity crisis” largely to “sudden and severe U.S. cutbacks to both its assessed and voluntary contributions across the UN system.”
The former Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs revealed that major humanitarian agencies like the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) could see their annual budgets slashed by 30% to 40%.
“This is taking place at a time when the UN is facing a severe financial crisis, with year-end cash deficits; severe cuts in funding for peacekeeping operations and indeed in resources across the UN system, which may shrink by up to 30 per cent compared to 2023,” Gambari stated.
He, however, pointed to a potential solution in the UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s “UN80 Initiative,” announced in March 2025. Gambari said if executed successfully, the initiative could transform the UN from achieving Less with Less to a more capable system for achieving more with less.
He urged member states to work closely with the UN Secretariat to ensure that the UN80 Initiative helps advance the ambitious goals of the Pact for the Future, which contains 56 actions and two annexes on the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations.
“If well executed by a motivated and mission-driven international civil service and backed by a cross-regional group of champion governments… the combined UN80 Initiative and Pact for the Future follow-through agendas hold out the promise that the United Nations can navigate the turbulent waters ahead,” Gambari concluded.
The dialogue also featured remarks from other dignitaries, including the 73rd President of the General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa, and Ambassador Sani Bala, Executive Director of the Savannah Centre.