The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has issued a grave warning that refugees across the globe are facing growing peril as funding shortfalls cripple critical support systems meant to protect them.

The alert, made public on Friday, May 2, marks a deepening of an already dire humanitarian crisis, as millions fleeing war and persecution are left without the lifelines they need to survive.

“Deep funding cuts are removing critical support for the world’s most vulnerable refugees. They now face even greater risks of abuse, poverty, being forced to return home to danger, or the prospect of new perilous journeys.”
United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR)

With more than two-thirds of host countries already overwhelmed, UNHCR cautioned that basic services such as education, healthcare, and shelter for refugees are hanging by a thread. The agency emphasized that global unity and compassion for displaced people are deteriorating, placing the very institution of asylum at risk.

“The safety that refugees seek in neighbouring countries is at risk,” warned Elizabeth Tan, Director of International Protection at UNHCR. “Without international solidarity and burden-sharing, the institution of asylum is under threat.”

Tan highlighted the case of some 12,000 Central African refugees in Chad and Cameroon who have expressed a willingness to return home. However, they cannot do so safely without transportation and support for reintegration. “No one wants to be a refugee for life,” she emphasized.

Global Solidarity Weakening Amid Crisis

As UNHCR marks its 75th anniversary this year, the agency is urging the international community to recall that refugees, unlike economic migrants, have lost the legal protection of their countries and often flee horrific conditions, including torture, war, and targeted violence.

“They arrive across borders traumatised, often after experiencing torture or persecution, and they need specialised support – including mental health care,” Tan said, underlining the severe emotional and psychological needs of refugee populations. She warned that children separated from their families are particularly at risk of exploitation, recruitment by armed groups, and human trafficking. “Protecting them,” she stressed, “is not a luxury – it is lifesaving.”

The agency’s $10.7 billion budget for 2024 is currently facing a staggering 65% shortfall. This unprecedented funding gap is forcing UNHCR to scale back core programs designed to deliver emergency assistance, protect human rights, and secure long-term solutions for the displaced.

Key services such as healthcare, shelter, and protection against gender-based violence are already being slashed. In Ukraine, for example, essential psychosocial support and emergency shelters have been suspended following aid freezes, including a U.S. funding hold.

According to Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR’s representative in Ukraine, “We’ve had to limit who we prioritize.” The country’s $550 million humanitarian appeal remains only 25% funded.

Globally, 12.8 million refugees—more than half of them children—could lose access to healthcare next year. Meanwhile, gender-based violence prevention programs remain only 38% funded.

Internal UNHCR documents reveal that the agency is preparing to close country offices and cut senior staff by half to cope with a 23% spending reduction. Per capita funding has fallen drastically from $72 in 2013 to a projected $39 in 2024, despite record-high displacement rates.

UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi has warned that the funding cuts threaten to unravel years of progress and expose vulnerable populations to “violence, danger, and death” by weakening the stability of host countries already stretched thin.

As armed conflicts in Sudan, Myanmar, and the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to escalate, the UNHCR is urgently appealing to international donors to step up. Without immediate action, millions of lives are at risk, and the consequences could reverberate for generations to come.