Nearly 8.3 million refugees and forcibly displaced people could lose access to assistance this year as the United Nations refugee agency faces one of its worst-ever funding crises, it warned in Geneva on Tuesday. UNHCR said it faces a $5.789 billion funding gap after money available fell 24 per cent between 2024 and 2025, driven by aid cuts from the United States and other donors.

By July, the agency had received only 32 per cent of the $8.505 billion it needs for 2026, even as the population under its mandate is expected to reach 131.2 million by year end. “Below a certain threshold, the system doesn’t shrink, it fails,” the agency said in a 26-page report on the cuts’ impact.

The report warns of registration delays for 319,000 people in Chad and lost safe spaces for 200,000 women and girls there, while 140,000 refugees in Sudan remained unregistered after activities were suspended for five months. UNHCR has already cut its workforce by 33 per cent, closed offices in 140 locations and ended operations in 15 countries, warning protection systems in some nations could collapse.