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UNHCR funding cuts: Barham Salih warns refugee protection is buckling

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UNHCR funding cuts are pushing refugee protection towards breaking point, High Commissioner Barham Salih told the agency’s Executive Committee in Geneva on Monday, UN News reported. UNHCR has received just $3 billion of the $8.5 billion it needs this year.

UNHCR funding cuts: File photo: people displaced by the war in Sudan
File photo: people displaced by the war in Sudan Photo: © IOM via UN News (editorial use with credit).

How UNHCR funding cuts hit people

In Sudan, the shortfall threatens care for more than 50,000 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, Salih said. In Chad, services for unaccompanied children are at risk. In Ethiopia, registration has stopped for tens of thousands arriving from South Sudan and Eritrea. Geneva Solutions also reported the speech.

Key Facts

  • Funding received: $3bn of $8.5bn
  • Displaced worldwide: 117 million
  • Staff lost since 2024: 8,000
  • Emergencies in 2026: 22 in 18 countries

“Efficiency has limits. There comes a point when greater efficiency cannot compensate for fewer resources.”

— Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

117 million displaced and 22 emergencies

There are now 117 million people forced from their homes. UNHCR has responded to 22 emergencies in 18 countries so far in 2026. The agency has lost 8,000 staff since 2024, and nearly 14.5 million refugees in poorer countries depend on aid.

Barham Salih: efficiency has limits

Salih, a former President of Iraq, said that doing more with less is different from being asked to do the impossible. He backed a plan to halve the number of refugees in long-term displacement who rely on aid by 2035.

Why It Matters: Cuts land on the most vulnerable first: women at risk of violence, children out of school and refugees with disabilities.

Also on TrendDesh: Djibouti shipwreck: death toll rises to 139 with 84 still missing, says IOM · Sudan Blue Nile drone strike kills at least 40, mostly women and girls

Source: UN News · Geneva Solutions

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