Syria faces loss of support for 162,500 displaced people, returnees

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned today that the deepening funding crisis could leave nearly 8.3 million refugees and forcibly displaced people without access to assistance this year and push protection systems in some countries toward collapse.

UNHCR is facing one of the worst funding crises in its history following cuts to aid by the United States and other countries. A new UNHCR report said the agency faces a $5.789 billion funding gap after available funding fell by 24 percent between 2024 and 2025.

As of July, UNHCR had received only 32 percent of the $8.505 billion it requested for 2026, while the global number of forcibly displaced and stateless people remains close to record highs.

UNHCR expects the population covered by its mandate to reach 131.2 million by the end of the year, up from 129.4 million at the end of last year.

In its 26-page report outlining the impact of budget cuts on refugee registration, child protection programs and services for survivors of gender-based violence, UNHCR said, “When you go below a certain level, the system doesn’t shrink; it fails.”

The report highlighted severe consequences in countries hosting large numbers of displaced people. In Chad, where refugees have fled the conflict in neighboring Sudan, 319,000 people face delays in registration, while 200,000 women and girls could lose access to safe spaces and prevention programs.

In Syria, 162,500 internally displaced people and vulnerable returnees will not receive cash assistance during the early stages of their return unless additional funding is urgently provided. This would reduce their ability to meet basic needs and rebuild their lives at a critical stage in the country’s recovery.

In Sudan, which the United Nations considers home to the world’s worst displacement crisis due to the civil war that entered its fourth year in April, around 140,000 refugees and asylum-seekers remained unregistered by midyear after registration activities were suspended for the first five months of 2026.

In Afghanistan, UNHCR’s grants for returnees were reduced from $375 to $170 per person, while the country received more than one million people this year alone following forced or voluntary returns from neighboring countries such as Iran and Pakistan.

UNHCR said further cost-cutting measures cannot make up for the funding shortfall, after it had already reduced its workforce by 33 percent in 2025, closed offices at 140 locations and halted operations in 15 countries compared with 2024.

It also said an increasing share of donor funding is strictly earmarked for specific expenditures, rising to 51 percent in 2026 from 19 percent five years ago. This limits UNHCR’s ability to redirect resources toward the most urgent priorities.

UNHCR warned that declining funding is gradually eroding the protection system, increasing the risk of refugees remaining undocumented and leaving survivors of gender-based violence without the support they need. 

A-H 

ANHA