UNHCR says funding shortfall threatens aid for 8.3 million displaced people

Nearly 8.3 million refugees and other forcibly displaced people risk losing access to vital assistance because of severe funding cuts, the UN refugee agency UNHCR warned on Tuesday. In a report, UNHCR said its ability to protect and assist refugees, internally displaced people and stateless people was being eroded by a sustained funding shortfall. The agency’s available funding fell from $5.2 billion in 2024 to $3.9 billion in 2025, while the number of people under its mandate remains historically high.

UNHCR said it needs $8.5 billion this year but had received only $2.7 billion, or 32 per cent, by the end of July. It said reforms and prioritisation measures had protected the most critical work, but the scale and duration of the shortfall were now affecting even high-priority services. Dominique Hyde, UNHCR’s external relations chief, said protection could not be reduced indefinitely without systems collapsing.

She warned that services might not merely reach fewer people below a certain funding level, but could stop functioning altogether. The agency cited specific effects in several countries. In Chad, 319,000 refugees faced registration delays, while about 233,000 children could lose child-protection services.

Coverage in parts of Ethiopia had fallen by as much as 85 per cent, and survivors of sexual violence and children at serious risk in Sudan could lose critical support. UNHCR said 117.8 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2025, down from 123.2 million in 2024. Its workforce fell by nearly 5,000 jobs last year.

It also warned that up to 350,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Iraq could lose economic-inclusion opportunities, while 162,500 vulnerable displaced or returned people in Syria could miss initial financial assistance.