GENEVA: The United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday it had secured more than $1.5 billion in early pledges to support its work in 2026, at a time when aid funding is plummeting globally.
“Today’s commitments show that the world has not turned its back on people forced to flee, and that support for refugees endures,” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) chief Filippo Grandi said in a statement.
During a donor conference in Geneva, governments pledged $1.16 billion to the agency for 2026, which was “slightly above the amount pledged last year... which was an all-time high,” it said.
An additional commitment of $350 million from the private sector brought the total to $1.5 billion, covering nearly 18 percent of the UNHCR’s projected funding needs for next year, it said, adding that additional contributions were expected in the coming months.
Top government contributors included Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway, alongside substantially increased contributions from Ireland, Luxembourg and Iceland, the UNHCR said.
It was welcome news for the agency, which is grappling with a towering crisis: amid surging global displacement, humanitarian funding has been fast evaporating this year.
The United States — traditionally the world’s top donor — has slashed foreign aid spending since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, while other major donor countries have tightened their belts.
The UNHCR announced in October that it had been forced to shed nearly 5,000 jobs globally, with dire consequences for refugees in need of aid and protection.
“This year’s drastic funding cuts — neither necessary nor inevitable — have been deeply counterproductive, leading to more instability and less protection, assistance and hope,” Grandi said.
While welcoming the early pledges for 2026, the UNHCR said they highlighted a “worrisome trend,” with the percentage of unearmarked funds dropping to just 17 percent — nearly half of the 2023 share.
Humanitarian organizations prefer receiving flexible funds not bound to specific activities, allowing them to dedicate resources where they are most needed and react more easily to emergencies.
UNHCR has said it needs $8.5 billion to cover its 2026 budget — down 20 percent from this year’s.
This decrease is not due to a reduction in needs, but rather to a strategic shift in how UNHCR plans and implements its actions, it said last month, stressing a greater focus on protection, life-saving interventions and systems support in host countries.