People forced to flee are among the hardest hit by the global humanitarian funding crisis. Across the world, families who fled war, persecution, or violence are now seeing the support they relied on vanish, leaving them dangerously exposed.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is being forced to suspend critical protection, assistance, and support for solutions, even as needs continue to rise. Compared to 2024, when UNHCR supported 36.4 million people, around 11.6 million people forced to flee are at risk of losing direct assistance this year.
These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet: they are refugees stranded in border areas awaiting relocation to safety, families unable to afford food, medicine or shelter, and pupils deprived of education and their opportunity for a better future. Despite generous and early contributions of $2.5 billion by June 2025 – covering 23 per cent of UNHCR’s global requirements – the projected shortfall of $8.1 billion against a budget of $10.6 billion still makes the situation untenable. UNHCR anticipates closing the year with $3.5 billion in available funding – roughly the same level as a decade ago, even though the number of people forced to flee has nearly doubled to 122 million.
In light of this grim financial reality and anticipated funding constraints, this report details the reductions in the overall scale of its activities and workforce by around one-third, and the impact those have had on people forced to flee.
