Secretary-General of United Nations (UN) António Guterres ,says the UN is undergoing some dire financial strain amid growing global challenges,

He disclosed that while briefing Member States in New York about the state of the multilateral body, pushed for wide-ranging structural reforms to cut costs and enhance the world body’s effectiveness.

According to information provided by the UN Controller to the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), only $1.8 billion had been received against the $3.5 billion regular budget assessments for 2025.

This amounted to a shortfall of around 50 per cent.As of 30 April, unpaid assessments stood at $2.4 billion, with the United States owing about $1.5 billion, China ($597 million), Russia ($72 million), Saudi Arabia ($42 million), Mexico ($38 million) and Venezuela ($38 million). An additional $137 million was yet to be paid by other Member States.