UN Refugee Agency | Reduced refugee aid

Around three-quarters of a million people have fled the brutal war in Sudan to the desperately poor neighboring country of Chad. In the Sahel state, they live in overcrowded refugee camps that are barely supplied by international aid organizations. In the border region with Sudan, the situation is already precarious due to a lack of transport infrastructure, rudimentary health care, and increasing water shortages. High unemployment means there are hardly any opportunities for the displaced to earn extra money. As if that weren't bad enough, the massive cuts in aid funding are now having an impact : in the refugee settlement of Farchana, for example, a maternity ward for refugee women had to close, and many are now giving birth at home in dangerous conditions – with increasing mortality rates for mothers and newborns, it is said. The school for refugees has also been closed, teachers no longer receive their salaries, and thousands of children have little access to education. "The children have left school. Many take dangerous migration routes, some drown in the sea, others end up in gold mines," reports headmaster Abdelrahim Abdelkarim.

The topic of finance also plays a major role in the "Global Trends 2025," which the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR presented in Geneva on Thursday. The organization calls it the "largest funding crisis in UNHCR's 75-year history." While the number of displaced people has almost doubled in the last ten years, the available funds today are roughly at the same level as in 2015, according to the 63-page report. The recent funding cuts, particularly by the USA, have had massive consequences, as the UN Refugee Agency in Bonn, UNHCR's national partner, points out: In South Sudan, three-quarters of the shelters for women had to be closed. This affects 80,000 women and girls, often victims of sexual violence, who no longer receive medical or psychological support. In Egypt, health care services have been cut off for Sudanese refugees. In Sudan, access to drinking water and medical care is at risk for half a million people. Although UNHCR is a multilateral organization of the international community, the Bonn-based UN Refugee Agency feels compelled to point out “urgently needed private donations.”

The financial problems come at a time when the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide has risen to a new high in the UNHCR's 75-year history. According to the report, at the end of April, 122.1 million people worldwide had fled war and persecution, a good two million more than a year earlier. Most of these people fled wars and major conflicts, especially in Sudan, Myanmar, and Ukraine. Around 40 percent of all displaced people are children.

"We live in a time of great volatility in international relations. Modern warfare has created a fragile and harrowing situation marked by immense human suffering," said Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at the presentation of the report. "We must redouble our efforts to build peace and find lasting solutions for refugees and others forced to flee their homes."

According to "Global Trends," the total number of refugees, i.e., people who have crossed an international border during their flight, remained largely unchanged at 42.7 million. However, there was a significant increase in the number of internally displaced people: The number of people forced to flee within their own country grew by 6.3 million to 73.5 million. These countries, however, are suffering from fighting and have unstable public structures to ensure their welfare. In addition, there are 8.4 million asylum seekers, also a significant increase of more than 1.5 million.

More than two-thirds of the world's refugees live in their immediate neighbors. Of these, 73 percent found protection in low- or middle-income countries, i.e., in the global South. Almost one in four, or 23 percent, even lives in countries that are among the world's poorest. In relation to the resident population, Lebanon, the Caribbean island of Aruba, and Chad host the most refugees. Only a fraction of the displaced people make it to Europe or North America. In Germany, the number of asylum applications fell significantly last year: The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees registered 250,945 asylum applications, of which 229,751 were first-time applications, a decrease of more than 30 percent. The most important countries of origin were Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. Incidentally, the country with the most new asylum applications in 2024 was, of all places, the USA.

According to UNHCR, the "world's largest displacement crisis" has been caused by the war in Sudan since April 2023, affecting 13.5 million people. Two-thirds of them are on the move within the country itself. As a result of the displacement, almost 25 million people are suffering from acute hunger, as Welthungerhilfe pointed out on Thursday. The situation around the Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur is particularly dire. It has become almost impossible for aid organizations to reach the people there, even though they urgently need help. In April 2025, the camp was the target of several violent attacks, forcing 400,000 people to flee again and now "enduring nowhere."

Despite the enormous problems, the UNHCR also sees glimmers of hope: "Nearly two million Syrians have been able to return to their homes after more than a decade of being uprooted," says High Commissioner Grandi. "But the country remains fragile, and people need our help to rebuild their lives," the Italian diplomat added. A total of 1.6 million refugees (the highest number in more than two decades) and 8.2 million internally displaced people (the second-highest number ever recorded) returned to their homes last year.

However, this is often overshadowed by conflict, insecurity, and hardship, as UNHCR points out. Many Afghans have returned to their homeland under duress and in extremely precarious conditions. And in addition to returnees, there are also new displacements, for example in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, and South Sudan.

"The UNHCR report confirms what our teams are experiencing worldwide: Humanitarian care for people on the move is deteriorating dramatically. Many of our patients have been displaced from their homes and are seeking protection and assistance, mostly in their own country or in neighboring countries," says Felix Braundorf, an expert on displacement and migration at the aid organization Doctors Without Borders. "What the report doesn't clearly state, however, is that dehumanizing rhetoric against refugees is increasingly spreading and violating their dignity. A clearer stance is needed here, from the UN and international policymakers."

"We must redouble our efforts to build peace and find lasting solutions."

Filippo Grandi UNHCR