UN refugee agency warns of funding gap as crises remain near record
UNHCR chief Barham Salih said staff cuts and a funding shortfall are limiting the agency as global forced displacement remains near record levels.
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what happened
France 24 reports that Barham Salih, the United Nations’ high commissioner for refugees, said UNHCR had reduced its workforce because of budget cuts while forced displacement remained close to record levels. As of October 9, the agency had $3 billion available, or 35 percent of the $8.5 billion required for 2026. UNHCR is currently projecting funding of approximately $2.68 billion for 2027. Salih said the agency was being asked to do more at the moment when fewer resources were available, warning that there was a difference between achieving more with less and being asked to do the impossible.
The former Iraqi president, who was once a refugee, made the remarks while opening UNHCR’s annual executive committee meeting, which runs until Friday. The agency has responded to 22 emergency declarations in 18 countries this year, including 17 newly declared emergencies in 15 countries. Since 2024, nearly 8,000 people have left UNHCR, bringing its workforce down from nearly 20,000 to just under 12,000. Salih said the expertise lost by the agency could not easily be replaced.
UNHCR estimates that 117.8 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2025, slightly below the 2024 record of 123.2 million. Refugees under the agency’s mandate accounted for 35.6 million of that total, with two-thirds coming from Venezuela, Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and Sudan. Voluntary contributions reached $2.44 billion in 2026. The European Union was the largest donor at $408 million, followed by Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark. The United States ranked ninth with $89 million, down from $812 million last year, while China gave $1.8 million—slightly less than private donors in the Philippines. Salih said temporary refugee arrangements too often become permanent, with children born in displacement settlements growing up there and having children of their own.
why it matters
The funding shortfall highlights fiscal pressure on donor governments and may affect the scale and allocation of international humanitarian spending.
sources
- UNHCR sounds alarm on funding crisis — France 24, 12 October 2026 at 12:21 UTC
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