UN Refugee Agency Launches Emergency Winter Appeal Amid Severe Global Funding Shortfall

“Humanitarian budgets are stretched to breaking point and winter support will be much less this year,” said Dominique Hyde, UNHCR’s Director of External Relations, after returning from Syria and Jordan.

As temperatures begin to fall across the northern hemisphere, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is sounding the alarm: millions of refugees and internally displaced people are at grave risk of facing winter without adequate protection, as global humanitarian funding declines dramatically.

From the Middle East to Afghanistan to Ukraine, families displaced by war, persecution, and disaster are preparing to endure freezing temperatures without insulation, heating, warm clothing, or medical care. This year, UNHCR warns, the situation is more dire than at any time in recent memory.

“Humanitarian budgets are stretched to breaking point and winter support will be much less this year,” said Dominique Hyde, UNHCR’s Director of External Relations, after returning from Syria and Jordan. “Families will have to endure freezing temperatures without things many of us take for granted.”

To respond, UNHCR has launched its global winter fundraising campaign, one of its most critical annual appeals, aiming to raise at least US$35 million to keep vulnerable families safe through the harsh months ahead.

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A Perfect Storm: Rising Needs, Shrinking Funding

This winter crisis is unfolding as international donor governments slash humanitarian budgets, leaving UNHCR and partner agencies with dangerously insufficient resources. Funding cuts risk leaving hundreds of thousands without:

• Warm blankets

• Shelter repairs and insulation

• Heating fuel

• Proper roofing

• Winter clothing

• Medicines

• Emergency cash for food and supplies

UNHCR stresses that private donors and individuals will play an unprecedentedly important role this year in preventing widespread suffering, frostbite, and cold-related deaths.

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Middle East: 750,000 People at Risk Without Assistance

In the Middle East, more than 1 million Syrians have returned to their war-damaged homeland since the fall of the Assad regime. Many arrive to homes reduced to rubble, with broken windows, missing roofs, and no heating.

Funding cuts mean up to 750,000 Syrians may receive no winter support, leaving children, the elderly, and families in destroyed neighbourhoods exposed to life-threatening conditions.

UNHCR aims to provide:

• Blankets and thermal mattresses

• Kitchen sets and solar lamps

• Winter clothing

• Cash for heating fuel

• Tools and materials to repair damaged shelters

“Families I met in Jordan dream of returning home, but the obstacles are immense,” Hyde noted. “The bitter winter ahead makes their struggle even harder.”

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Afghanistan: Sub-Zero Cold and Mass Returns Create a Humanitarian Emergency

Afghanistan is bracing for another brutal winter, with temperatures far below freezing already hitting mountain regions.

Key challenges:

• 9 in 10 Afghans live in poverty

• Over 2.2 million people returned from Pakistan and Iran this year alone

• Many returnees are arriving with nothing

• Earthquakes in Herat, Zindajan, and surrounding areas have destroyed thousands of homes

• Health and social services remain “on the brink of collapse,” according to UNHCR

Most returning families have no shelter, no savings, and no winter clothing. Some—particularly children—have never lived inside Afghanistan and are unprepared for the climate.

A small contribution can make a life-saving difference:

• $30 provides a bukhary (traditional heating stove)

• $53 enables a refugee to access medical care in Jordan

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Ukraine: Fourth Winter of Full-Scale War Brings New Dangers

Millions in Ukraine—including nearly 4 million internally displaced people (IDPs)—are preparing for their fourth winter of war. Ongoing missile strikes and drone attacks continue to destroy:

• Power plants

• Electricity grids

• Water systems

• Heating pipelines

Temperatures can plunge to -20°C, turning damaged apartments and basements into deadly environments.

UNHCR teams are distributing:

• Thermal blankets

• Winter clothing

• Emergency shelter kits

• Insulation materials

• Power banks and lighting

• Repair tools for damaged homes

Cost of support:

• $80 provides a rapid thermal kit

• $120 prepares a refugee family’s shelter in Lebanon

• $181 supplies a full winter kit for a family in Syria

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A Global Plea: “Displaced Families Should Not Face Winter Alone”

Hyde issued a stark warning that humanitarian funding is falling as fast as temperatures:

“Our teams are on the ground, determined to protect refugees from the cold, but we are running out of time and resources. Displaced families should not have to face winter alone.”

With weather patterns becoming more extreme due to climate change, and conflict zones multiplying, the number of people needing winter support is expanding while financial resources shrink.

UNHCR emphasises that every contribution counts—no matter how small—and can directly protect the lives of those who have nowhere else to turn.