UN agency warns funding crisis could leave 8.3 million people without aid

UNHCR: Funding Shortfall Could Leave 8.3 Million Refugees Without Support This Year

By Olivia Le Poidevin

UNHCR Faces Unprecedented Funding Crisis Impacting Refugee Support

GENEVA, Sept 29 (Reuters) - A deepening funding crisis could leave nearly 8.3 million refugees and forcibly displaced people without access to assistance this year, and push protection systems in some countries towards collapse, the United Nations refugee agency warned on Tuesday. 

Scale of the Funding Gap

UNHCR is facing one of its worst-ever funding crises following aid cuts by the United States and other countries. It faces a $5.789 billion funding gap, according to a new report by the agency, after money available to the agency fell 24% between 2024 and 2025. 

As of July, UNHCR had received only 32% of the $8.505 billion it required in 2026, while the number of forcibly displaced and stateless people globally remains near record levels. 

UNHCR expects the population under its mandate to reach 131.2 million by year end, up from 129.4 million at the end of last year.

Consequences of Insufficient Funding

“Below a certain threshold, the system doesn’t shrink, it fails," the agency said in the 26-page report outlining the impact of budget cuts on refugee registration, child protection programmes and services for survivors of gender-based violence.

Impact on Host Countries

The report highlighted severe consequences in countries hosting large displaced populations. In Chad, where refugees have fled conflict in neighbouring Sudan, 319,000 people face registration delays while 200,000 women and girls could lose access to safe spaces and prevention programmes. 

In Sudan -- which the UN considers the world’s worst displacement crisis due to the civil war that entered its fourth year in April -- about 140,000 refugees and asylum-seekers remained unregistered by mid-year after registration activities were suspended for the first five months of 2026. 

In Afghanistan, UNHCR grants given to people returning to the country have been slashed from $375 to $170 per person, while the country has received over one million people this year alone, due to forced or voluntary returns from neighbouring countries including Iran and Pakistan. 

Cost-Saving Measures and Donor Constraints

UNHCR said that further cost-saving measures could not compensate for funding shortfalls, after having already cut its workforce by 33% in 2025, closed offices in 140 locations and discontinued operations in 15 countries compared with 2024. 

The agency also said a growing share of donor funding is tightly earmarked, rising to 51% in 2026 from 19% five years earlier, limiting its ability to shift resources to the most urgent priorities. 

Erosion of Protection Systems

UNHCR warned that reduced funding was gradually eroding the protection system, increasing the risk that refugees remain undocumented and that survivors of gender-based violence are left without the support they need.

(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Jonathan Spicer )