High Commissioner Filippo Grandi meets with Sudanese refugee families who are sheltering at a spontaneous site in Adré, on the Chad-Sudan border, during a country mission to Chad, in April 2025. © UNHCR/Nicolo Filippo Rosso.
Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, begins his final official visit to Sweden this week at a time when humanitarian needs around the world are soaring while funding struggles to keep pace.
In 2024, UNHCR responded to a record number of emergencies, 43 in total, including 26 new ones. Seven reached the highest level of severity. One-third of new crises were linked to extreme weather. Yet, just as needs escalate, deep funding cuts are threatening essential support to the world’s most vulnerable people. Refugees now face heightened risks of abuse, poverty, forced return, or dangerous onward journeys, often by sea.
“While national security is often understood as protection at our borders, true global security begins much earlier, by addressing the root causes of instability,” said Grandi. “Humanitarian aid is an investment in global peace, economic resilience, and human dignity.”
Two-thirds of the world’s refugees are hosted by neighboring countries, many of them under-resourced. These host communities, already stretched to the limit, are being hit hardest by the funding crisis. UNHCR is already seeing the impact, as efforts to stabilize and support populations in fragile host countries are being scaled back or terminated. This also jeopardizes long-term solutions for the people who are displaced, increasing risks of trafficking, onward movement, human rights violations, and further instability.
For 75 years, UNHCR has been a vital actor in enabling refugee protection and finding solutions, fostering stability and hope. UNHCR’s expertise has helped navigate complex political, security and socio-economic challenges, helping to save the lives of millions of refugees and protecting rights.
After more than 30 years in international cooperation, most of them spent responding to the world’s most pressing refugee and humanitarian crises, Mr. Grandi highlights that the financial situation for humanitarian aid is the worst that he has seen given the growing needs. During his visit, he will reaffirm the vital role of international solidarity, the importance of Sweden’s continued leadership, and the growing urgency of support for displaced populations globally.
Sweden remains one of UNHCR’s most trusted and generous partners. Sweden was the fourth largest donor to UNHCR in 2024 and the largest provider of critical unearmarked funding globally.
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