In 2025, the multilateral system faced an unprecedented and structural contraction in funding with over three-quarters of major UN agencies announcing deep budget shortfalls and cost-cutting measures in response to ODA reductions and UN-mandated efficiency reforms. This trend is likely to continue over the coming years.
This mapping report, based on a MOPAN survey of 31 multilateral organisations (MOs) and an extensive review of public sources and official announcements, reveals an unambiguous picture:the current financial crisis is not a temporary liquidity issue but a structural contraction reshaping the multilateral system. Most MOs reported formal donor notices of funding reductions for either 2025 or 2026, typically ranging from 11% to 30% of total revenues.1
The consequences are already visible in planned staff reductions and lay-offs, office closure, programmatic scale-back through suspension or delaying projects and reduced engagement with and support for partners, resulting in a loss of geographical coverage. Entities also cite adverse impacts across all their core functions, including policy, capacity development, technical assistance and knowledge work.
The findings reveal that the multilateral system is moving from a “do more with less” paradigm to a reality of “doing less with less.” Agencies are struggling to maintain delivery while their flexibility, institutional memory and ability to respond to emerging crises erode. These developments will undoubtedly yield lasting impacts on mandate fulfilment, operational resilience, partnership models and humanitarian reach and pose risks to transparency, accountability, and trust in the multilateral system.
This report complements a series of three thematic briefs on multilateral effectiveness in a shifting landscape (MOPAN, 2025[1]), and aims to inform MOPAN members, multilateral organisations, and other stakeholders as they navigate UN80 reforms.
Read the mapping report on MOPAN’s website.
