UNHCR warns 8.3 million people could lose vital support amid funding crisis

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has sounded the alarm, predicting that nearly 8.3 million refugees, displaced individuals, and stateless people could lose access to essential protection and assistance due to a severe funding crisis. According to a report titled "Protection Eroded: The Human Cost of Underfunding," published on September 30, 2026, financial support has dwindled from $5.2 billion in 2024 to $3.9 billion in 2025. As of July 2026, UNHCR has only received 32 percent of the $8.5 billion required for the year.

The funding shortage has pushed humanitarian programmes to their breaking point, with pressures mounting as the number of people under UNHCR's mandate continues to reach historic highs. UNHCR Director of External Relations, Dominique Hyde, warned that when registration ceases, safe houses close, and child protection services disappear, the very dangers people fled – violence, exploitation, and abuse – could return in displacement situations.

Hyde emphasized that prolonged cuts could lead to the collapse of protection systems, rather than simply serving fewer people.

The impacts of funding shortages are already being felt in several countries. In Chad, around 319,000 refugees face registration delays, potentially leaving them without necessary documentation and exposing some to detention risks. Up to 200,000 women and girls could lose access to safe spaces and violence prevention programmes, while about 233,000 children may lose access to child protection services.

In Ethiopia, the capacity of safe houses for survivors of gender-based violence has plummeted by more than half in a year, with child protection coverage dropping by up to 85 percent in some areas.

In Sudan, critical protection services for sexual violence survivors and high-risk children could be lost to tens of thousands. Economic inclusion opportunities for refugees and host communities in Sudan might also be jeopardized. In Iraq, up to 350,000 refugees and asylum-seekers could lose access to economic inclusion programs.

The agency also highlighted gaps affecting returning populations, with 162,500 vulnerable internally displaced people and refugee returnees in Syria expected to miss financial assistance during their return unless more funding is secured. In Afghanistan, reintegration grants have only reached 175 households in 2026, compared to 5,300 households in 2024.

UNHCR has responded to the crisis by introducing reforms and prioritizing its most critical programmes. However, even with these adjustments, the scale of the shortfall means that high-priority protection and solutions programmes are now also being affected. The agency faces reduced flexibility in allocating funds, as the proportion of UNHCR funding tied to specific activities has increased from 19 percent in 2022 to 51 percent in 2026.

UNHCR urges donors and partners to provide additional support and flexible funding to maintain protection services, support livelihoods, and enable displaced people to rebuild their lives, lest the progress in protecting refugees and other forcibly displaced and stateless people be reversed.