Global Appeal 2026
Global Appeal 2026
Sudanese refugees gather together, sheltering from the sun under trees and building makeshift shelters, at a temporary site in Koulbous, Chad, on the border with Sudan, after fleeing the conflict that erupted in Sudan in April 2023.
UNHCR’s Global Appeal 2026 describes UNHCR’s plans for 2026, including anticipated changes in the global population of forcibly displaced and stateless people, the budget required to meet their needs, and the actions UNHCR plans to take.
A full response to this Appeal would allow UNHCR to prepare in advance, anticipate challenges, and engage strategically on a systematic and multi-year basis when needed.
are needed in 2026 to protect and assist forcibly displaced and stateless people
in which UNHCR will be present and undertake action
are projected to be forcibly displaced or stateless in 2026
To be a refugee, an internally displaced or a stateless person is to be cast into a situation of uncertainty and vulnerability, through no fault of your own. It is to find yourself uprooted, seeking safety, legal recognition of your rights, and access to opportunity so you can rebuild your life, or perhaps secure your children’s future.
Mohamed & Abdelazim | Sudanese refugees in Egypt
Mohamed was too young to remember Sudan. Violence erupted soon after his birth, forcing his mother, Nour Haroun, to flee with him and his sister to Egypt. In Cairo, the family found safety but remained vulnerable. Nour relied on UNHCR’s cash assistance, and Mohamed, suffering from anaemia, received care at a partner clinic.
In March 2025, funding cuts forced UNHCR to suspend life-saving support for refugees in Egypt, leaving thousands without medical treatment or child protection services.
Abdelazim Mohamed, another Sudanese refugee, fled Khartoum with his wife. He suffers from cardiomyopathy and ischemic heart disease. UNHCR’s health partner once provided him with stent procedures and medication. Now, that support is gone.
“I fought so hard to survive,” he says. “But if I can’t afford my medicine, what happens to me? What happens to my wife?”
Their stories reveal the human cost of shrinking humanitarian budgets—where survival hangs in the balance for those who have already lost everything.
Global population planning figures
UNHCR sets its annual budget based on the projected number of forcibly displaced and stateless people for the upcoming year. The 2026 budget anticipates that there will be 136 million forcibly displaced and stateless people by the end of 2026. As of 31 October 2025, UNHCR was present in 128 countries and territories, providing protection and assistance and helping to bring about solutions.
Global funding needs
Based on the population planning figures, UNHCR has calculated a required budget of $8.505 billion for 2026. This budget is designed to enable UNHCR and its partners to provide life-saving protection, assistance and solutions in new and ongoing displacement situations. Of the total, $7.539 billion – or 89% – is planned for operations in the field, with $8.088 billion – 95% – allocated to programmed activities.
2025 budget needs
Syrian Arab Republic: UNHCR and its partner delivering core relief items in rural Lattakia, Dourin village.
© UNHCR/Emad Kabbas
Outcome Areas
OA1 - Access
UNHCR launched in Jordan a self-renewal service via kiosks, making it easier and faster for refugees to update their information and renew their documents. Lubna Zeineh from UNHCR registration staff conducts an iris scan for Hamza Al-Homsi, a 9-year-old Syrian refugee using the kiosk system.
OA2 - Status
OUTCOME AREA 2
Status determination
- Global financial needs: $155 million
- Change from 2025 budget: +23%
Faced with a historic rise in asylum applications, a slew of emergencies, and increasingly complex mixed movements of refugees and migrants, asylum procedures must be able to provide international protection promptly and fairly to those who need it.
In 2026, UNHCR will process asylum claims in countries where no fair and efficient systems exist. In other countries, it will reinforce national systems for determining refugee status and statelessness, ensuring that asylum-seekers can access free legal services and information, and assisting authorities in their response to people moving along key routes.
Matin, a 20-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, on his way to work in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2022 and was granted international protection in 2023, enabling him to stay and access basic rights. With support from UNHCR, Catholic Relief Services, and the Public Employment Services, he found work at a Sarajevo-based textile company.
OA3 - Policy
After fleeing twice and losing her land documents, Mary returned to Hai Matar in South Sudan. With support from the EU, UNHCR, and partners, she reclaimed her family’s land and built a new home. The HLP project helps displaced families secure shelter and resolve land issues through legal aid and peaceful solutions.
OA4 - GBV
Ancila, a Burundian refugee and psychologist, stands alongside a UNHCR staff member during a gender-based violence sensitization session in northern Mozambique. Together, they hold a poster with key messages on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.
OA5 - Children
OUTCOME AREA 5
Child protection
- Global financial needs: $197 million
- Change from 2025 budget: -12%
Children represent over 40% of displaced populations worldwide, but UNHCR’s ability to respond to their needs is limited by a decline in funding amid increasingly complex crises.
UNHCR aims to protect forcibly displaced and stateless children from abuse, neglect, exploitation, violence and family separation. We do so by strengthening child protection systems and by promoting coordinated interventions and solutions in children’s best interests.
In 2026, UNHCR will aim to build the capacity of local and refugee-led organizations to deliver community-based child protection and psychosocial support, while progressively transitioning UNHCR’s s Best Interests Procedures (BIP) to national systems.
After losing their home in a missile strike, a Ukrainian foster family relocated from Kherson to Odesa. With State support, they moved into a new permanent home in December 2024.
OA6 - Justice
Ali, a Syrian refugee, was arrested in March 2025 when his documents weren’t recognized. With legal aid from Raghad, a lawyer from UNHCR’s partner IRC, he was released after three days and continues to receive legal assistance.
OA7 - Community
In Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp, Thailand, Karenni women refugees from Myanmar take part in a weaving training led by WEAVE NGO. The initiative helps preserve traditional artisan skills while promoting refugee women's empowerment and sustainable livelihoods.
OA8 - Basic needs
At a UNHCR-supported transit centre in Pavlohrad, Ukraine, newly displaced people – many vulnerable and arriving with few belongings – receive clothing, cash assistance, hygiene kits, legal aid, and psychosocial support from UNHCR and partners Proliska and Right to Protection.
OA9 - Shelter
At the Luakdong site in Gambella, Ethiopia, a South Sudanese refugee man sets up the tallest pole of his family’s tent using a UNHCR shelter kit.
OA10 - Health
At Zaatari camp, IMC emergency clinic, funded by UNHCR, Syrian refugees receive 24/7 primary health care. Hasan Al-Hariri brought his son Saddam for treatment and praised the clinic’s responsive and caring service.
OA11 - Education
Sudanese refugees attending secondary school at the Farchana refugee camp in eastern Chad, face an uncertain future, as cuts to global humanitarian funding have made it impossible to pay their teachers’ salaries.
OA12 - WASH
Solar-powered water points provide safe, reliable water for refugees and host community in Maban, South Sudan.
OA13 - Livelihoods
Bernard Munyaneza, a Congolese refugee, hangs maize to dry in Rwanda. Through a farming project funded by the Government of Denmark, refugee and host community farmers in Nyabicwamba marshland receive seeds, fertilizers, and training to earn an income and build resilience amid rising living costs and reduced cash assistance.
OA14 - Returns
OUTCOME AREA 14
Voluntary repatriation and sustainable reintegration
- Global financial needs: $561 million
- Change from 2025 budget: +12%
When it is possible for refugees to make safe, dignified and voluntary returns to their country of origin, UNHCR helps them to do so and to rebuild their lives. UNHCR works to ensure protection, multi-sectoral assistance, and ongoing monitoring of conditions in areas of return. The voices of displaced people are central to this process: UNHCR conducts participatory intention surveys to understand refugees’ hopes and concerns, provides clear and timely information about conditions in their home countries, and works to remove barriers to return.
UNHCR and IOM in Lebanon – working in close coordination with the authorities of both countries – facilitated the first voluntary return convoy of 72 Syrian refugees from Lebanon to the Syrian Arab Republic, as part of the Organized Voluntary Return Programme.
OA15 - Resettlement
OUTCOME AREA 15
Resettlement and complementary pathways
- Global financial needs: $150 million
- Change from 2025 budget: -33%
With millions of refugees unable to go home, resettlement and complementary pathways (such as education, employment, family reunification and humanitarian visas) provide opportunities for long-lasting solutions. UNHCR projects 2.5 million refugees will need resettlement in 2026, down from 2.9 million in 2025.
In 2026, UNHCR will seek resettlement for the refugees most in need. We aim to strengthen data-sharing collaborations with partners involved in resettlement, expand opportunities for complementary pathways, open regular migration systems up to refugees, and build refugees’ skillsets so they can qualify for employment and education pathways.
Mahmoud Suji, a Rohingya refugee, poses with his wife Mariam and sons Maher and Mahdi in Athens, Greece, after reuniting through the family reunification program. Fleeing persecution in Myanmar, Mahmoud was granted refugee status in Greece in 2019 and supported by the Greek Council for Refugees and UNHCR throughout the asylum and reunification process.
OA16 - Local solutions
Senior Chief Mumena of the Kaonde people in Zambia’s Northwestern Province is a strong advocate for refugee inclusion. In Meheba Refugee Settlement, he promotes peaceful coexistence and local integration, urging communities to welcome refugees as neighbors.
Impact Areas
Forcibly displaced and stateless people have fundamental rights, including protection, a safe environment in which to live until they find a durable solution, and an opportunity to influence their own futures and build better lives. In UNHCR’s global results framework, the four Impact Areas aim to measure the extent to which forcibly displaced and stateless people enjoy these overarching rights, and to capture the changes over time.
Protect
UNHCR Protection Officer Jacqueline Juru speaks with Sudanese refugee Hibak Ali at Renk Transit Centre in South Sudan, a key hub in the response to Sudan’s ongoing crisis. With partners, UNHCR supports returnees, refugees, and others arriving in search of safety. Hibak is relieved to have found shelter as she awaits relocation.
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IMPACT AREA 1
Protect: Attaining favourable protection environments
- Global financial needs: $2.099 billion
- Change from 2025 budget: -18%
People fleeing across borders must be able to reach a place of safety and have their claim to asylum recognized, and not be returned to a country where they may face danger or persecution.
In 2026, UNHCR will deepen its focus on life-saving protection activities, including registration, documentation, asylum capacity, legal assistance, and child protection. These efforts will be increasingly delivered through national and local systems, with UNHCR providing technical support and advocacy for inclusion.
Respond
UNHCR staff register newly arrived Congolese refugees at a reception centre in Rugombo, Burundi, in March 2025, helping them access essential services after fleeing violence in the DRC.
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IMPACT AREA 2
Respond: Realizing rights in safe environments
- Global financial needs: $3.219 billion
- Change from 2025 budget: -30%
People who have been forced to flee need basic services, ranging from life-saving emergency aid to longer-term needs such as health and education. If they cannot work and are not included in national services, they may require assistance until they can find a durable solution.
In 2026, UNHCR will maintain its comparative advantage in emergency preparedness and response through pre-positioned supplies and rapid deployment teams. However, emergency operations will become leaner and more mobile, with a stronger emphasis on coordination and technical support. Local actors and national systems will play a larger role in delivering emergency aid, with transitions to other UN agencies and partners initiated within months of onset where feasible.
Empower
Momena, 20, runs a bag-making shop with her sister at the UNHCR-supported Women’s Business Center in Herat, Afghanistan. The Women’s business center includes 21 shops, classrooms for English and computer learning, a psychosocial support space, and a handicraft exhibition hall and promotes economic independence, self-reliance, and social inclusion for women and girls.
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IMPACT AREA 3
Empower: Empowering communities and achieving gender equality
- Global financial needs: $1.195 billion
- Change from 2025 budget: -16%
Forcibly displaced and stateless people are best placed to build their own futures, if the tools and opportunities are available. This means having the right to decent work, access to education, gender equality, and the chance to participate in decisions that affect their lives.
In 2026, UNHCR will strengthen efforts to promote community empowerment, self-reliance, and economic inclusion. There is a move toward more targeted initiatives integrated within broader protection and solutions strategies, with empowerment being central to resilience and solutions programming. Community engagement will be reinforced through participatory approaches and feedback mechanisms, including partnerships with community-led organizations – especially those led by women – and will support two-way communication to ensure feedback and accountability.
Solve
Haifa, 9, returns to the Syrian Arab Republic with her family after years in Lebanon. UNHCR facilitated their voluntary return as part of a convoy helping refugees go home safely and with dignity.
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IMPACT AREA 4
Solve: Securing solutions
- Global financial needs: $1.575 billion
- Change from 2025 budget: +2%
Forced displacement and statelessness must come to an end. For stateless people, that means acquiring a nationality. For displaced people, it could be a voluntary return; integration or naturalization in their place of exile; or resettlement or another pathway to a new country.
In 20256, UNHCR will intensify efforts to support national leadership in delivering durable solutions by, for example, strategically expanding support for return and reintegration in places such as Iraq, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic, where efforts are shifting towards area-based approaches; in Asia and the Pacific, growth is driven by investments in voluntary return, complementary pathways, and regional cooperation; and in West and Central Africa, UNHCR is strengthening collaboration with governments and development partners to support return and reintegration in countries such as the Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria.
Areas of Strategic Focus
In its Strategic Directions 2022-2026, UNHCR identified several priority Focus Areas requiring sustained attention and pledged to address them with discipline and unwavering commitment. This section highlights UNHCR’s strategic engagement across key areas, including climate action, internal displacement, statelessness, collaboration with development actors, accountability to affected populations, and advocacy for alternatives to dangerous journeys.
Internal displacement
Internally displaced widow and mother-of-five Adibeh Othman, 64, stands by her house in the Kafarsouseh neighbourhood of Damascus city, in the Syrian Arab Republic where she lives after she and her family were forced to flee their home in Darya, during the conflict.
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FOCUS AREA
Internal displacement
- Global needs for the IDP response: $1.155 billion
- Change from 2025 budget: -24%
Millions of people remain displaced within their own countries, often in fragile contexts where protection systems are weak and resources scarce.
In 2026, UNHCR will strengthen legal frameworks, expand access to documentation, enhance protection monitoring, and deliver life-saving assistance while promoting durable, nationally led solutions that uphold rights and reduce dependency.
Accountability to affected people
UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner Kelly Clements meets Syrian returnee women from Lebanon at the community centre in Al-Bayyada neighbourhood, Homs, Syrian Arab Republic.
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FOCUS AREA
Accountability to affected people
Forcibly displaced and stateless people are not passive recipients but central actors in shaping humanitarian response. Anchored in the Age, Gender and Diversity Policy, UNHCR listens to, engages and works with communities, recognizing their diverse capacities, priorities, and aspirations.
In 2026, UNHCR will focus on participation and inclusion, communication and transparency, feedback and response, and organizational learning and adaptation.
Statelessness
Amina smiles proudly, holding her new ID card. After living stateless for more than five decades, Amida Demiri (55) finally received North Macedonian nationality in 2025, with support from UNHCR and its partner the Macedonian Young Lawyers Association (MYLA).
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FOCUS AREA
Statelessness
- Global financial needs: $100 million
- Change from 2025 budget: -35%
Millions of people are stateless, which makes it hard to live a dignified life and exercise basic rights. Most countries have no safeguards against childhood statelessness and many do not allow women to confer nationality on their children in the same way as men.
In 2026, we will support governments to reform nationality laws and policies and provide technical assistance regarding introduction and implementation of legal safeguards against childhood statelessness, and measures to protect stateless persons. We will help stateless people access nationality, legal aid, and essential documentation, ensuring their rights are recognized and protected. We will generate and promote data and evidence to inform policies and build visibility of statelessness, promoting the inclusion of stateless people and the resolution of stateless situations.
Climate action
Thousands of newly arrived South Sudanese refugees build makeshift shelters on the last dry ground at Tormorok transit site, as floodwaters submerge large areas. Overcrowding and flooding worsen conditions for those awaiting registration and relocation to Luakdong.
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FOCUS AREA
Climate action
- Global financial needs: $770billion
- Change from 2025 budget: -36%
People who have been forced to flee are especially vulnerable to the devastating impacts of climate change.
Around the world, some 120 million people have been displaced by conflict, violence and persecution; three quarters of these people are living in countries with high-to-extreme exposure to climate-related hazards, placing them at additional risk. While refugees and other displaced people are finding themselves on the frontlines of conflict and climate change, they often lack the resources to adapt, prepare for, or recover from the impacts of extreme weather and recurring disasters.
In 2026, our climate-related efforts will focus on law and policy, partnerships and building displaced people’s resilience.
Working with development actors
Nidugunda Peruse, a Burundian refugee runs a salon and shop along the newly upgraded Jomo Kenyatta Road, in Kalobeyei, Kenya,. Constructed by UNHCR with EU funding, the road has improved security and access, helping her grow her businesses and support her community.
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FOCUS AREA
Working with development actors
UNHCR is increasingly working with development actors such as the World Bank to progress towards solutions and sustain government-led responses, since humanitarian funding alone cannot meet the challenge of unprecedented and protracted displacement.
In 2026, UNHCR will encourage commitments to improving legal and policy environments, investments to support equitable access to services in displacement-affected areas, greater economic inclusion and expanded access to employment entrepreneurship, agribusiness, and financial services for forcibly displaced and stateless people.
Route-based approach
High Commissioner inaugurates reception centre for refugees in Tiné, Chad, on the border with Sudan. The ‘One-Stop Shop’ in Tiné, the main entry point into Chad’s is a refugee reception, orientation and assistance centre, established to maximize border security and provide appropriate assistance to refugees, migrants, returnees and asylum-seekers.
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FOCUS AREA
Route-based approach
People with a valid claim to protection often undertake desperate and dangerous journeys, during which they face severe threats, including gender-based violence, trafficking, torture, and physical harm.
UNHCR aims to make such journeys unnecessary, by emphasizing the fundamental safeguards of refugee protection and solutions, by supporting the capacity of State asylum systems, by combating misinformation, by ensuring people are warned about the dangers, and by advocating access to regular pathways. We also seek to leverage the widespread support for the Global Compact on Refugees, which promotes international cooperation, shared responsibility, and support for countries hosting large refugee populations.
Sustainable responses
In Herat, Afghanistan, Sakina Hussaini runs a successful bag-making business with support from UNHCR’s small and medium enterprises program. The financial assistance helped her expand operations and employ 22 people – 15 of them women – creating sustainable livelihoods and empowering her community.
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FOCUS AREA
Sustainable responses
Most people who have been forced to flee remain in low- and middle-income countries that continue to provide safety and support despite mounting economic and social pressures, upholding a vital global public good in an increasingly fractured world.
Sustainable responses are nationally-led and inclusive ways of working that strengthen protection, support durable solutions, and bring humanitarian, development, peace and private sector actors together under government leadership to ensure coherent, predictable and nationally-owned responses to displacement.
This approach promotes economic and financial inclusion, ensuring that forcibly displaced and stateless people can access work, livelihoods, and financial services alongside nationals. By expanding opportunity and participation, these efforts strengthen local economies and make asylum more sustainable.
Kenya: Newly arrived refugee families in Kakuma are facing growing food shortages as funding cuts continue to strain assistance. Despite limited resources, many are finding ways to cope, but without additional support, the situation is likely to worsen.
© UNHCR/Eric Bakuli
Support from the private sector
Fondation de Luxembourg strengthens schools to help refugee children learn in Yemen and Pakistan
Massvoll Stiftung, hosted by the Fondation de Luxembourg, has been engaged in supporting the futures of refugee children in Yemen and Pakistan since 2021. This partnership is expanding access to quality primary education by upgrading school infrastructure, creating inclusive learning pathways for over-age learners and children with disabilities, and strengthening teacher training and community engagement. By the end of 2026, the initiative will directly support 7,000 children and 130 teachers, and improve learning environments by renovating more than 50 school units – including classrooms, libraries, and water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.
Strengthening inclusion through education, livelihoods and policy reform across Africa
The Mastercard Foundation and UNHCR are joining forces to transform education, livelihoods, and inclusion for refugees and host communities across Africa. With a new $300 million investment, the partnership will expand opportunities in eight countries, aiming to reach over 500,000 young people with quality secondary education, support 10,000 learners in pursuing higher or technical studies, and help 200,000 people transition into dignified work – with a strong focus on women (70% of participants) and persons with disabilities (5%). Over the next 4.5 years, the initiative will also strengthen 100 local and refugee-led organizations, train teachers, and advocate policies that make education and employment more accessible and inclusive across the continent.
LIV Golf’s ongoing support to displaced and host communities across four continent
In 2024, UNHCR partnered with LIV Golf to use the power of sport to create safe spaces for refugee and host community children and youth across six countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. The partnership invests in multi-year sport and play-based activities, alongside essential support like education, job opportunities, and capacity building and collective learning activities where girls and young women are included. In its first year, the initiative has already helped improve well-being, social connections, and a sense of belonging for young people, while making sure they can still access vital services.
Employment and skills development for forcibly displaced people
Outsource Global, a leading pan-African Business Process Outsourcing company, is teaming up with UNHCR to create sustainable employment pathways for internally displaced people, refugees, and local community members in Nigeria. Through this collaboration, participants receive tailored pre-onboarding training to prepare them for diverse professional roles, such as in customer service, data management, accounting, legal support, HR, software development, and more. With Outsource Global’s growing footprint across Africa, including Nigeria and Kenya, these opportunities will also be available to refugees and host communities there. This initiative builds on Outsource Global’s commitment at the Africa Forum on Displacement 2025 to help 1,000 forcibly displaced people access direct, income-generating jobs across the continent.
From emergency aid to lasting resilience, IRUSA helps refugees rebuild their lives
Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) is a strategic partner in UNHCR’s global efforts to support refugees and displaced communities. Together, they deliver urgent and long-term assistance to vulnerable families in countries like Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, Jordan, Mexico and Sudan. For example, in Brazil, IRUSA and UNHCR are working to help over 2,000 Afghan refugees overcome language barriers and access essential services, so they can rebuild their lives with dignity. Thanks to this partnership, thousands of families worldwide are receiving critical emergency aid and support for long-term resilience, livelihoods, and self-reliance.
Revolut’s continued support empowers refugees through global emergency response
Revolut, has been a key corporate partner to UNHCR since 2020, enabling fast and flexible responses to humanitarian emergencies. Through its global financial app, Revolut empowers customers to support refugees by rounding up spare change, making one-time gifts, or setting recurring donations. Over £2 million has been raised to date, with funds supporting urgent relief operations including in Ukraine, Türkiye, Libya and beyond. These contributions help provide shelter, protection, and emergency aid to families forced to flee. Revolut’s innovative giving platform and global reach play a vital role in strengthening UNHCR’s ability to respond to crises swiftly and effectively – making it easier for individuals around the world to stand with refugees when it matters most.
ANTA’s Moving for Change brings education and play to displaced youth
Through the “Moving for Change” initiative, UNHCR and ANTA Group are partnering to bring education and play to displaced children and youth. Over three years, ANTA is donating at least 1.2 million items of clothing and $1.5 million to support access to primary education, learning resources, and play-based programs that boost well-being and resilience. By 2025, the initiative aims to reach 300,000 displaced children across Kenya, Ethiopia, and Burundi. This collaboration directly supports Sustainable Development Goals for quality education and strong partnerships, and both UNHCR and ANTA Group plan to expand its impact even further in 2026 and beyond.
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The Global Appeal outlines UNHCR's programmatic plans for the year and the funding required to protect, assist and find solutions for the world's forcibly displaced and stateless people. Explore the data and narratives underlying the global picture.
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