Severe funding cuts are pushing refugee protection systems towards breaking point. Nearly 8.3 million refugees and other forcibly displaced and stateless people are at risk of losing vital assistance, according to a new UNHCR report.

UNHCR said available funding fell from $5.2 billion in 2024 to $3.9 billion in 2025. By the end of July 2026, the agency had received only 32% of the $8.5 billion it needs this year.

“When registration stops, safe houses close or child protection services disappear, the very risks that people fled reappear,” said Dominique Hyde, UNHCR’s Director of External Relations. She warned that continued cuts could cause essential protection systems to stop functioning.

The impact is already being felt in major displacement crises. In Chad, 319,000 refugees face delays in registration. Up to 200,000 women and girls risk losing access to safe spaces and prevention programmes. In Ethiopia, capacity at safe houses for survivors of gender-based violence has more than halved in a year. Child protection coverage in some areas has also fallen by as much as 85%.

In Sudan, tens of thousands of survivors of sexual violence and children at serious risk could lose access to critical protection services. Funding cuts are also putting livelihoods and economic programmes at risk for displaced people in Chad and Iraq.

UNHCR said it has already made difficult choices to protect its most critical work. But the agency is now warning that the funding gap is affecting even its highest-priority protection programmes. It is calling on donors to provide urgent support and more flexible funding so services can continue where needs are greatest.