UNHCR has 35% of its 2026 funding and has cut nearly 8,000 staff since 2024
High Commissioner Barham Salih told the executive committee in Geneva that the refugee agency had $3 billion as of 9 October, against the $8.5 billion it needs for 2026. The agency is restructuring its headquarters and regional offices, and Salih warned that efficiency gains cannot offset the shortfall.
Funding shortfall
UNHCR has secured $3 billion, or 35% of the $8.5 billion it requires for 2026, Barham Salih said as of 9 October in his opening address to the agency's annual executive committee (ExCom) meeting in Geneva. The meeting runs until Friday, 16 October. The agency expects around $2.68 billion for 2027, a figure that could rise after a donor pledging conference in December. Salih said the shortfall follows aid cuts by countries including the United States under President Donald Trump, at a time when forced displacement remains near record levels.
There is a difference between doing more with less and being asked to do the impossible.
Restructuring and job cuts
Since 2024, nearly 8,000 people have left the agency, reducing its workforce from about 20,000 to just under 12,000. Salih said UNHCR has launched one of its largest restructurings in its history. Jobs are being cut at the Geneva headquarters and regional offices, with 88% of staff working outside headquarters and about 95% of protection staff retained in field locations. Changes are being made at 31 sites.
Efficiency has its limits. There comes a point where greater efficiency cannot offset the lack of resources.
Programmes under threat
Salih cited several programmes at risk. In Chad, insufficient funding could disrupt specialised medical care and legal assistance for more than 50,000 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence who fled neighbouring Sudan. In Ethiopia, refugee registration has been suspended for tens of thousands of refugees from South Sudan and Eritrea. Colombia raised concerns on behalf of Latin American countries, which it said are disproportionately affected. The Americas face a 32% budget reduction in 2027 compared with this year.
Displacement and donors
Some 117.8 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2025, according to UNHCR, down slightly from a record 123.2 million in 2024. Of these, 35.6 million were refugees under UNHCR's mandate, two-thirds of them from Venezuela, Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and Sudan. Of the $2.44 billion received in voluntary contributions in 2026, the European Union gave $408 million, making it the largest donor, followed by Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark. The United States gave $89 million, down from $812 million last year, and China gave $1.8 million.
- European Union
- 408 USD million
- United States
- 89 USD million
- China
- 1.8 USD million
- 2024
- 20000 staff
- 2026
- 12000 staff
Emergency response
In 2026, UNHCR responded to 22 emergency declarations in 18 countries, 17 of them new, in settings ranging from Yemen and the Horn of Africa to Sudan and the Sahel. Salih said humanitarian aid cannot indefinitely compensate for unresolved wars and called on political leaders to end conflicts. He also said a further year of displacement should not be considered an acceptable outcome, and that the agency's aim is a stronger UNHCR focused where it can add the most value rather than a smaller one.
Another year of survival in displacement should not be considered an acceptable outcome.
