UN refugee agency says its 2026 appeal is only 35% funded

The UN refugee agency has received about $3 billion, or 35%, of the $8.5 billion it says it needs for 2026, High Commissioner Barham Salih told UNHCR’s executive committee in Geneva. The funding gap follows reductions by major donors while global displacement remains near record levels.

UNHCR’s published Global Appeal confirms a needs-based 2026 budget of roughly $8.5 billion. Reuters reported that the agency’s restructuring has reduced staffing from about 20,000 people in 2024 to fewer than 12,000, although UNHCR says it has tried to preserve frontline protection roles. Organisational savings cannot replace the missing programme funding.

The effects are uneven and concrete. Services for survivors of sexual violence in Chad and refugee-registration work in Ethiopia are among operations under pressure. In the Americas, UNHCR expects a 32% budget reduction in 2027 even as the displaced population covered by its operations is projected to increase.

A donor conference is scheduled for December, but pledges have not yet closed the gap. The figures describe money available against assessed needs, not a forecast that every programme will close. They do show why legal protection, shelter and registration can weaken before displacement itself declines.