UNHCR seeks US$50m to help nine million people face winter hardship

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has called upon the United States to provide at least US$50 million in emergency funding to assist nine million people in Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, and Afghanistan facing severe winter hardships. This appeal marks a US$3 million increase from the amount raised in the previous year, amid dwindling resources and escalating costs ahead of the northern hemisphere's winter.

UNHCR's Director of External Relations, Dominique Hyde, expressed concerns that the funding gap would leave millions vulnerable to freezing temperatures without adequate protection. The urgency of this situation is heightened by rising energy and food prices, coupled with shortages of fuel for heating and cooking. In Ukraine, temperatures are projected to plummet to minus 20 degrees Celsius as the nation enters its fifth winter since Russia's full-scale invasion.

The crisis is expected to worsen due to escalated Russian attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers, alongside electricity supply disruptions. Similarly, in Afghanistan, nearly four million people returned from Pakistan and Iran between January 2025 and July 2026, many with limited resources for rebuilding their lives. In Syria, millions of refugees returned after President Bashar al-Assad's ouster, but their precarious situation could deteriorate further without additional funding for basic needs such as shelter, clothing, and heating fuel.

Lebanon currently hosts an estimated 300,000 people in need of winter assistance, but UNHCR can only support half of them due to funding limitations. As of October 9, 2026, UNHCR has raised only US$3 billion out of its US$8.5 billion appeal for 2026. Despite a slight decrease in the global displacement count to 117.8 million people worldwide at the end of 2025, compared to 123.2 million in 2024, the agency has had to reduce its workforce due to budget cuts.