UNDP Warns Falling Support for Refugees as Global Displacement Hits Record High

UNDP stressed that host countries are bearing a disproportionate burden and that declining international assistance risks undermining stability in already fragile contexts.

At the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review Meeting held from 15 to 17 December, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warned that international support for refugees and the communities hosting them is declining sharply, even as global displacement reaches unprecedented levels. The agency urged governments and partners to move beyond short-term humanitarian responses and invest more decisively in long-term development solutions.

By the end of 2024, an estimated 117 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by conflict, climate shocks and economic instability. The vast majority sought safety in low- and middle-income countries, which host 2.5 times more refugees than high-income countries, despite having far fewer financial resources and facing mounting domestic economic pressures.

UNDP stressed that host countries are bearing a disproportionate burden and that declining international assistance risks undermining stability in already fragile contexts. According to the agency, evidence from dozens of countries shows that development-oriented investments—such as repairing schools, health clinics, water systems, roads and local markets—play a crucial role in stabilising communities, easing social tensions, supporting livelihoods and enabling safe, voluntary returns or local integration.

“The world cannot keep responding to displacement with short-term fixes,” said Shoko Noda, Director of UNDP’s Crisis Bureau. “Host countries are carrying an impossible burden. Without real development action, global displacement crises will only deepen. The cost of inaction will be far higher than acting now.”

The Global Refugee Forum is the world’s largest international platform on refugee issues, convened every four years to assess progress and mobilise commitments under the Global Compact on Refugees. The 2025 Progress Review Meeting focuses on how governments, international organisations and development partners are delivering on pledges made at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, particularly in areas such as jobs, services and national systems.

Despite funding challenges, UNDP highlighted the impact of its work in displacement-affected countries. In 2024, the organisation invested more than $618 million across over 60 countries hosting refugees or affected by forced displacement. In Lebanon and Türkiye, UNDP-supported employment and livelihoods programmes reached more than 1 million people, helping refugees and host communities access income opportunities. In Iran, around 373,000 Afghan refugees were able to access health services through national systems with UNDP support, strengthening inclusion and reducing pressure on parallel aid structures.

However, UNDP warned that these gains are increasingly at risk. Global funding for refugee responses fell in 2024 and is projected to decline again in 2025. Funding gaps remain especially severe in the world’s poorest countries: low-income states host around 19% of all refugees but account for just 0.6% of global wealth, leaving them chronically under-resourced.

Looking ahead to the next Global Refugee Forum in 2027, UNDP said it will intensify efforts to expand partnerships with governments, the private sector and humanitarian actors, including UNHCR. Priorities include strengthening national systems, linking climate adaptation with livelihoods and recovery, mobilising climate and development finance, and scaling joint programming across refugee-hosting, transit and return communities.

UNDP concluded that addressing forced displacement sustainably requires predictable, long-term development financing, aligned with humanitarian assistance, to ensure that refugees and host communities alike can rebuild lives with dignity and resilience.