The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced that nearly 5,000 of its staff have lost their jobs this year as the agency struggles to cope with a deepening financial crisis triggered by sharp cuts in international aid.
UNHCR Chief Filippo Grandi, who disclosed this on Monday, said the agency is facing one of the most severe funding shortfalls in its history, even as global displacement continues to surge.
“Almost 5,000 UNHCR colleagues have already lost their jobs this year. This is more than a quarter of our entire workforce,” Grandi said, warning that “the number is expected to grow.”
According to a spokesperson for the agency, the job cuts affect both full-time employees and those on temporary or consultancy contracts.
Grandi attributed the crisis to a steep decline in donor funding, particularly from the United States, historically UNHCR’s largest contributor. Washington previously provided over 40 per cent of the agency’s budget, but aid has been drastically reduced following the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to office in January.
“The numbers are bleak,” Grandi said. “Critical programmes and lifesaving activities have to be stopped: gender-based violence prevention work, psychosocial support to survivors of torture, schools closed, food assistance decreased, cash grants cut, and resettlement ground to a halt. This is what happens when you slash funding by over $1bn in a matter of weeks.”
For 2025, the UNHCR had an approved budget of $10.6 billion. However, Grandi revealed that the agency has received only about half of that amount in recent years, averaging roughly $5 billion annually.
“As things stand, we project we will end 2025 with $3.9bn in funds available, a decrease of $1.3 billion compared to 2024, or roughly 25 per cent less,” he said.
The funding gap, according to the UNHCR chief, has left refugee protection and humanitarian operations in peril across dozens of countries. “No country, no sector, no partner has been spared,” he lamented.
The cuts have already disrupted critical services for millions of displaced persons globally. Grandi said many refugee schools have shut down, food aid has been scaled back, and cash support programmes, often the only source of livelihood for vulnerable families, have been severely reduced.
Analysts warn that the crisis could further exacerbate suffering in regions such as Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, where displacement is already at record levels due to conflict, persecution, and climate-related disasters.
Grandi urged the international community to act swiftly to restore funding and protect the world’s most vulnerable populations. He emphasised that humanitarian needs are rising while donor fatigue and geopolitical priorities have led to an unprecedented contraction in aid flows.
“Refugees and displaced people are paying the price for political and financial decisions they did not make,” he said. “We are appealing to all partners to step up support before this crisis becomes irreversible.”
With over 120 million people currently displaced worldwide, the UNHCR warns that without urgent intervention, its ability to deliver essential assistance, from shelter to health and education, could collapse entirely by next year.
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