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 | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: Life-saving medicines blocked as killing continues, disease gains ground
In Gaza, a dire humanitarian situation marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of diseases is being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, warned against the continuing trend of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, in violation of international human rights and refugee law, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OHCHR
Lebanon's first responders face high risks amid conflict, with 116 killed since March.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC Ebola outbreak: hundreds of suspected cases, no vaccine
A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has health workers rushing to stop transmission while the roll out of any potential vaccine is months away, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN Human Rights Office report released today covers 19 months of large-scale violations of international law including atrocity crimes, from October 2023 to the end of May 2025.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
At least six million people in Somalia are going days without enough food, UN aid teams warned on Friday, highlighting that nearly two million of this number are young children “at high risk of illness or death”.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO
Children shot, stabbed and pepper-sprayed in occupied West Bank; scores of Gaza amputees denied prosthetics, aid teams warn
Israeli military operations and surging settler attacks in the occupied West Bank are killing and maiming Palestinian children, while in Gaza tens of thousands with life-changing injuries lack access to treatment and rehabilitation, UN agencies warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
The risk of hantavirus spreading to the general population is “absolutely low”, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) stressed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , IFRC
Death and destruction have continued unabated in Lebanon while communities are still unable to return to their homes despite a ceasefire that began on 17 April, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Deadly hantavirus on board cruise ship may be transmitted among humans - WHO
Hantavirus victims on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean may have been infected prior to joining the cruise and human-to-human transmission on board cannot be ruled out – although it is rare - the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief concerned by upheld convictions of Cambodian activists.