UNHCR Warns Funding Cuts Are Straining Emergency Response as Displacement Crises Deepen Worldwide

Throughout 2025, UNHCR teams delivered life-saving protection and assistance across some of the world’s most volatile and under-resourced settings.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has warned that severe funding shortfalls are placing unprecedented pressure on humanitarian response, even as conflicts, instability, and disasters continue to force millions of people from their homes.

In its 2025 Impact Report: Response to New Emergencies and Protracted Crises, released today, UNHCR details how it responded to a surge of complex new emergencies and intensifying long-running crises throughout 2025—despite shrinking resources and growing needs.

The report underscores that without sustained attention to durable solutions, ongoing conflict and instability will continue to drive new displacement while worsening conditions for people already uprooted.

Responding amid escalating crises and constrained resources

Throughout 2025, UNHCR teams delivered life-saving protection and assistance across some of the world’s most volatile and under-resourced settings.

This included supporting people fleeing renewed violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo into Burundi and Uganda, assisting those escaping fresh hostilities within and beyond South Sudan, and protecting millions of Afghans returning or being forced to return from the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan.

At the same time, protracted crises deepened. Ongoing conflict in Sudan, intensified attacks in Ukraine, and escalating armed confrontations in Colombia triggered repeated and secondary displacement, compounding risks for millions who were already displaced.

“In 2025, displacement occurred amid protracted conflict, recurrent disasters, and new outbreaks of violence,” said Ayaki Ito, UNHCR’s Director of Emergency and Programme Support. “UNHCR teams continued responding on the front lines, even as severe resource constraints limited our capacity.”

Life-saving assistance delivered at scale

Despite these constraints, UNHCR’s emergency operations reached millions:

• Clean water provided to 500,000 people in Sudan

• Cash assistance delivered to 500,000 Afghan returnees and 120,000 Syrian returnees

• Over one million protection and assistance services delivered to people displaced inside Ukraine and in refugee-hosting countries

Over the year, UNHCR managed or responded to 24 active emergency declarations across 16 countries, including 10 new emergencies. Seven of these were among the most severe and complex crises the agency faced, requiring large-scale responses in highly insecure environments such as Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad.

Funding gaps slow response as needs grow

The report makes clear that emergency preparedness and rapid response depend on flexible, predictable funding—yet reduced resources in 2025 significantly constrained the speed, scale, and reach of assistance.

Looking ahead to 2026, UNHCR warns that ongoing instability in countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela is likely to trigger further displacement or intensify humanitarian needs.

Together, these crises affect nearly 52 million forcibly displaced people and account for one-third of UNHCR’s global funding requirements for 2026. Humanitarian needs are expected to rise sharply.

“The risks ahead are clear,” Ito said. “Conflicts are intensifying, driving new displacement and deepening suffering for millions who have already lost everything.”

A call for sustained international engagement

UNHCR urged the international community to remain engaged, address the root causes of displacement, and ensure adequate funding for emergency response and long-term solutions.

Through its Emergency Response Mechanism (ERM), UNHCR continues to rely on flexible funding to strengthen preparedness and act within the critical first hours of new emergencies—often the difference between life and death.

“In the face of growing crises, UNHCR will continue offering its expertise, networks, and tools,” Ito said, “to prepare for emergencies, deliver life-saving interventions, and help displaced people move toward self-reliance and lasting solutions.”