GENEVA – Funding cuts are threatening the health of nearly 13 million displaced people, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR warned Friday, with the financial uncertainty already having an impact.
“The current humanitarian funding crisis, exacerbated by declining health spending in hosting countries, is affecting the scope and quality of public health and nutrition programmes for refugees and host communities, disrupting access to essential services and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks, malnutrition, untreated chronic conditions and mental health issues.”
Citing examples of cutbacks, Maina said around a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh were facing a severe health crisis with funding freezes threatening access to medical services.
In Burundi, the suspension of nutrition programmes in several camps means thousands of refugee children under five may not receive adequate treatment for malnutrition, he added.
And in the Democratic Republic of Congo, UNHCR’s 2025 health budget has been cut by 87 percent compared to 2024.
In the DRC, “the health consequences of funding cuts are expected to be devastating, putting over 520,000 refugees at heightened risk of infectious diseases and death”, said Maina.
And in Egypt, all UNHCR’s medical treatment for refugees has been suspended, except emergency life-saving procedures.
The estimate of 12.8 million displaced people potentially being left without health support was based on a survey by UNHCR’s health team of all the global operations where the agency has health programmes.
UNHCR spokesman William Spindler said other traditional top donors were also reducing their funding. – AFP
