Makeshift shelters for Sudanese displaced after El-Fasher fell to the RSF form the Um Yanqur camp in Tawila, Darfur, on November 3, 2025. (Photo: AFP)
The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, says nearly 8.3 million refugees and other forcibly displaced people are at risk of losing vital assistance due to severe funding shortages.
UNHCR says its available funding dropped from $5.2 billion in 2024 to $3.9 billion in 2025, despite the number of people requiring protection remaining historically high.
The agency says it needs $8.5 billion this year to support refugees, internally displaced persons and stateless people, but had received only 32 per cent of the amount by the end of July.
UNHCR warns that continued funding cuts are affecting critical protection services, including refugee registration, child protection and assistance for survivors of sexual violence.
In Chad, about 319,000 refugees are facing registration delays, while around 233,000 children could lose access to protection services. In parts of Ethiopia, child protection coverage has fallen by as much as 85 per cent.
The agency also warns that tens of thousands of survivors of sexual violence and vulnerable children in Sudan could lose access to critical services.
UNHCR says 117.8 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced at the end of 2025, including 35.6 million refugees under its mandate.
The agency also cut nearly 5,000 jobs in 2025, representing more than a quarter of its workforce, as major donors reduced foreign aid spending.







