The UN refugee agency will have to make deep cuts with dire consequences for displaced people around the globe unless it quickly receives $700m in new funding, the head of the agency said.
According to international media, the war in Ukraine has created millions of refugees, and there are now more than 100 million people who have been forcibly displaced in the world, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi said. He said the crisis has caused his his agency’s budget to balloon to more than $10bn.
“I regret to inform you that for the first time during my tenure, I’m worried about UNHCR’s financial situation,” Grandi said.
“If we do not receive at least an additional $700m, especially for our most underfunded operations between now and the end of this year, we will be forced to make severe cuts with negative and sometimes dramatic consequences for refugees and host communities,” he said. “In the strongest of terms to all donors, please do more.”
He said the Ukraine conflict had spurred “the largest and fastest displacement crisis” in Europe since World War II and added more than $1bn to the UNHCR’s budget this year.
More than 7.6 million Ukrainians have fled their country since Russia’s invasion began on February 24. Grandi said he was worried about the impact of cold weather during the Northern Hemisphere’s winter on 6.2 million people internally displaced in Ukraine.
UN refugee chief warns of ‘severe cuts’ without urgent funding
