Geneva (AFP) – Nearly 8.3 million refugees and other forcibly displaced people face losing vital assistance from UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency warned Tuesday, as protection services crumble due to “severe” funding cuts.
“UNHCR’s ability to protect and assist refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), and stateless people is being eroded by a sustained and worsening funding shortfall,” the agency said in a report detailing the human cost of budget cuts. The agency stated that its available funding had fallen from $5.2 billion in 2024 to $3.9 billion in 2025, while the number of people it is mandated to protect is hovering around historically high levels.
UNHCR emphasized that it needed $8.5 billion this year to protect refugees, but by the end of July, it had received only 32 percent of that amount ($2.7 billion). This means nearly 8.3 million forcibly displaced people are “at risk of losing access to UNHCR assistance,” the agency remarked. “Continued severe funding cuts are pushing refugee support and protection structures towards breaking point in the world’s main displacement situations,” it added.
The agency mentioned that it had undertaken reforms and prioritization measures to safeguard its most critical work; however, the scale and persistence of the shortfall meant that even its highest-priority actions were being affected. “Protection cannot be reduced indefinitely without systems collapsing,” warned Dominique Hyde, UNHCR’s external relations chief. “Below a certain threshold, services do not simply reach fewer people; they can stop functioning altogether, leaving those most at risk without the protection they need.”
The agency also highlighted specific regions facing dire consequences due to funding cuts. In Chad, for example, 319,000 refugees faced registration delays, leaving them without the documentation to access services, while around 233,000 children could potentially lose child protection services. In Ethiopia, child protection coverage in some areas has diminished by up to 85 percent. Moreover, in Sudan, tens of thousands of survivors of sexual violence and children at serious risk could lose access to critical protection services, the agency warned. When registration stops or child protection services disappear, “the very risks that people fled—violence, exploitation, and abuse—reappear in displacement,” cautioned Hyde.
In response to the challenges posed by funding shortages, UNHCR has also experienced workforce reductions. Some 117.8 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes at the end of 2025, according to UNHCR—down from 2024’s record 123.2 million. Of those 117.8 million, 35.6 million were refugees under UNHCR’s mandate, with two-thirds coming from Venezuela, Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, and Sudan.
In 2025, UNHCR shed nearly 5,000 jobs, amounting to more than a quarter of its workforce. The United States—traditionally the world’s top donor—has heavily slashed foreign aid, while other major donors have also tightened their belts. The Geneva-based agency stated that funding cuts were undermining its efforts to help people move away from reliance on aid.
In Iraq, up to 350,000 refugees and asylum seekers risk losing access to economic inclusion opportunities. Additionally, when people return to their home countries—whether voluntarily or under duress—help is also drying up, according to UNHCR. In Syria, 162,500 vulnerable IDPs and returned refugees will not receive initial financial assistance unless funding is received quickly, which will reduce their ability to rebuild their lives, the agency noted.
© 2024 AFP
