By Ayomide Otitoju
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has laid off nearly 5,000 employees this year as a result of severe cuts in international aid, the agency’s chief, Filippo Grandi, announced on Monday.
Grandi described the situation as a “towering crisis,” warning that the refugee agency is struggling to cope with surging global displacement while funding continues to dry up following the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to office.
“Almost 5,000 UNHCR colleagues have already lost their jobs this year,” Grandi said, noting that the figure represents more than a quarter of the agency’s entire workforce. “That number is expected to grow,” he added.
A UNHCR spokesperson told AFP that both permanent staff and those on temporary or consultancy contracts were affected by the layoffs.
Traditionally one of the UNHCR’s biggest donors, the United States has drastically reduced its foreign aid contributions, accounting for much of the agency’s financial strain. Washington previously provided over 40 percent of the refugee agency’s funding.
“The cuts from the U.S., combined with belt-tightening by other donor countries, have left the agency in a dire situation,” Grandi said.
The UNHCR had approved a $10.6 billion budget for 2025 but has typically received only about half that amount in recent years. Grandi warned that the agency expects to end 2025 with just $3.9 billion in available funds — a $1.3 billion drop from 2024, or roughly 25 percent less.
“No country, no sector, no partner has been spared,” he said. “Critical programmes and lifesaving activities have been stopped — gender-based violence prevention work, psychosocial support for survivors of torture, closed schools, reduced food assistance, and halted resettlement operations. This is what happens when you slash over $1 billion in funding within weeks.”
