The UN refugee agency had secured only $3 billion of the $8.5 billion it needs for 2026 by 9 October, its High Commissioner Barham Salih told member states in Geneva on 12 October. He warned that the funding gap was already disrupting protection services, not simply forcing the organisation to operate with fewer staff.
The update comes as UNHCR reviews how it works after years of cuts. Salih said nearly 8,000 colleagues had left since 2024, reducing the workforce from nearly 20,000 to just under 12,000. The agency has cut costs, narrowed its footprint and prioritised activities, but he said efficiency could not indefinitely make up for shrinking resources.
Registration and specialist support under pressure
In Ethiopia, registration has been halted for tens of thousands of refugees from South Sudan and Eritrea, Salih said. Hundreds of thousands more are awaiting verification and integration into the national identification system. Registration and identity records can be central to people’s ability to establish their status and navigate services, making the interruption a significant protection concern.
In Sudan, insufficient funding threatens specialised medical care, legal assistance and psychosocial support for more than 50,000 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. Salih also identified risks to services in Chad for unaccompanied and separated children, as well as children with specific protection needs.
These examples describe particular services at risk or already interrupted; they do not mean that every person in those groups has lost all assistance. The statement points to the pressure on systems that help displaced people obtain documentation, specialist support and protection.
A smaller organisation, with most protection staff in the field
Despite the workforce reduction, Salih said 88 per cent of UNHCR staff remained outside headquarters and about 95 per cent of its protection and solutions capacity was still in field operations. He said the agency was trying to preserve frontline work while making its finances sustainable.
Proposed changes would affect 31 country presences, around a quarter of those reviewed. Salih said lighter operating models could be used where national institutions and partnerships were strong, while the agency would maintain closer engagement where protection needs and operational risks were greater. He said the proposals included safeguards and ongoing monitoring, with flexibility to strengthen a presence if circumstances required it.
That makes the distinction between planned restructuring and service cuts important: the country-presence changes are proposals, while the halted registration in Ethiopia and the threatened services in Sudan and Chad were presented as current consequences of insufficient funding.
Outlook for next year remains uncertain
Salih put UNHCR’s current funding forecast for 2027 at about $2.68 billion, while noting that further donor commitments could change the figure. A pledging conference planned for December is one point at which contributions may become clearer. The projection is not a final budget or a confirmed total of donations.
UNHCR’s 2026 requirement is set at $8.505 billion in its annual global appeal. The October figure of $3 billion therefore represents 35 per cent of the stated need, leaving most of the year’s requirement unmet at the date Salih gave.
The agency’s immediate challenge is to decide where limited funding can sustain protection and assistance without assuming that internal savings can replace donor support. For refugees facing stalled registration or threatened specialist services, the consequences are already visible in specific operations; the longer-term reach of further cuts will depend on funding and operational decisions still to come.
