The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNHCR , UNOG
Funding cuts impact on aid access - UNHCR Dominique Hyde - 18 July 2025
Over 11.6 million refugees risk losing aid access due to funding cuts, says UNHCR
Approximately one in three refugees and other vulnerable individuals normally supported by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) are expected to lose out from funding cuts, it said on Friday.
Out of UNHCR’s $10.6 billion funding requirement this year, only 23 per cent has been fulfilled so far, said Dominique Hyde, UNHCR Director of External Relations.
“Behind these numbers lie families, lie lives that are hanging on a very, very thin balance. Families are seeing their support that they have relied on just vanish," she said.
The funding crisis stems from large foreign aid cuts by donor countries such as Sweden, France and Japan, compounded by slashed United States humanitarian assistance.
More refugees and less aid
Forced displacement is increasing worldwide while humanitarian aid is declining sharply, creating a "deadly cocktail" that puts displaced populations at grave risk, a new UNHCR report notes.
The UN agency reported that it has been forced to halt or suspend approximately $1.4 billion in assistance programmes, including a 60 per cent cut in emergency relief supplies in many countries, such as Sudan, Chad and Afghanistan.
Critical support such as medical aid, education, shelter, nutrition and protection are among the services lost.
Women and girls are disproportionately impacted. The agency has to drop one quarter of its support to programmes that provide protection and response to gender-based violence, including to survivors.
Ends
Speaker: Dominique Hyde, UNHCR Director of External Relations
TRT: 01’47”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 18 June 2025 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Wide shot of the press conference room at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
2. Soundbite (English) Dominique Hyde, UNHCR Director of External Relations: "We fear that up to 11.6 million refugees and people forced to flee are losing access to humanitarian assistance provided by HCR, and this means that 1/3 of the people that we usually assist will not be getting the services that we are usually able to provide.And behind these numbers lie families, lie lives that are hanging on a very, very thin balance. Families are seeing their support that they have relied on just vanish."
3. Cutaway: wide shot of the press conference room.
4. Soundbite (English) Dominique Hyde, UNHCR Director of External Relations: "If I just hone in on a few examples, I'd like to speak about South Sudan, where 75% of safe spaces for women and girls supported by UNHCR have closed, leaving up to 80,000 refugees, women and girls, including survivors of sexual violence without access to medical care, psychosocial support, legal aid, material support or income generating activities. Without this support, they will simply not be able to move on with their lives and it will take that much more time on their path to recovery."
5. Cutaways: Close shot of journalists listening and wide lateral shot of the press conference room.
6. Soundbite (English) Dominique Hyde, UNHCR Director of External Relations: "We're being hit. These women-led organizations are being hit. Governments that are hosting refugees are being hit. I said it at the beginning. That's a deadly cocktail. That is not good news for the world."
7. Wide shot of the press conference room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP , OCHA
UN urges opening of all Gaza crossings to deliver three-month food supply
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned food aid cannot reach everyone in Gaza unless all border crossings are opened, particularly in the north where famine was declared in August. The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP , UNICEF , OCHA , ICRC
Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid continues to reach desperate Palestinians.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s decision to name Maria Machado as this year’s laureate, in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , WHO
As Gazans jammed the main route leading north on Friday after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced, UN aid teams repeated their call to open all crossings into the devastated enclave to prevent famine spreading.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022.