Barham Salih told UNHCR’s executive committee in Geneva on Monday, 12 October 2026, that the agency had secured $3 billion of the $8.5 billion it requires for 2026. The High Commissioner said the figure left a $5.5 billion shortfall.
The gap follows a sharp fall in funding. UNHCR received $5.2 billion in 2024 and $3.9 billion in 2025, while many countries have reduced their humanitarian contributions since last year. Aid cuts by countries including the United States under President Donald Trump are contributing to the present shortfall.
The agency said $3 billion represented 35% of its 2026 requirement. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees separately said that 32% of the $8.5 billion needed this year had been secured.
UNHCR has reduced its workforce from 20,000 employees in 2024 to just under 12,000 and has begun one of the largest restructurings in its history. It said about 95% of staff carrying out protection work had remained in field locations.
The consequences are already visible in some operations. Refugee registration has been suspended in Ethiopia for tens of thousands of people from South Sudan and Eritrea. In Chad, inadequate funding threatens specialised medical care and legal assistance for more than 50,000 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence who fled neighbouring Sudan.
UNHCR said nearly 8.3 million refugees and displaced people worldwide could soon lose access to aid and shelter. Without funding, it said, refugees could go unregistered, safe accommodation could no longer be offered and protections for children could be neglected.
“Falling funding levels are having a dramatic impact on enjoyment of a broad range of rights,” UNHCR said. “In many contexts, underfunding is already causing the loss of essential services and systems that protect people forced to flee from violence, exploitation, exclusion, and other risks”.
The agency warned that people who had escaped violence, exploitation and abuse could then fall into the hands of smugglers and human traffickers.
The Americas face a 32% budget reduction in 2027 compared with 2026, or about $485 million. The number of forcibly displaced and stateless people in the region is projected to rise by 4% to about 24.5 million people in 2027.
UNHCR has scheduled a donor pledging conference for December.
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