(JUBA) – South Sudan is facing new pressure as global aid cuts have left the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) unable to provide shelter for more than 60 percent of those fleeing the ongoing conflict in Sudan. The crisis is most acute on the Sudan-Chad border, but thousands have also arrived in South Sudan’s remote border areas where they now remain stranded.
The UNHCR has confirmed that $1.4 billion worth of its programmes globally have either been shut down or put on hold. The agency’s Director of External Relations, Dominique Hyde, made the announcement in a press briefing, appealing urgently to international donors for flexible funding.
“We can’t stop water, we can’t stop sanitation, but we are forced to take painful decisions when it comes to shelter,” Hyde said. She highlighted that new arrivals from Darfur into Chad, and others making their way into South Sudan, are no longer being housed due to financial constraints. “If we just had a bit more support, we could get them to settlements.”
According to UNHCR estimates, up to 11.6 million refugees and internally displaced people around the world are at risk of losing access to vital humanitarian assistance this year. This represents roughly one-third of the people the agency was able to support in 2024.
In South Sudan, the impact has already been severe. UNHCR reports that 75 percent of safe spaces for women and girls which offer medical care, psychosocial support, legal services and material aid have shut down due to the funding crisis. As a result, an estimated 80,000 women and girls, including survivors of sexual violence, have lost access to critical services.
| Impact in South Sudan | Affected |
|---|---|
| Women’s safe spaces closed | 75% of centres |
| Women and girls losing access to support | 80,000+ individuals |
| Shelter for new Sudanese arrivals | No coverage for 60%+ |
| Services suspended | Legal aid, psychosocial care |
Globally, one in three UNHCR offices has been impacted by the funding shortage. The agency is now focusing only on life-saving activities and has postponed or cancelled other operations. For 2025, UNHCR says it needs $10.6 billion to meet global needs, but only 23 percent of that funding has been secured so far.
“If additional funding becomes available,” Hyde stated, “UNHCR has the capacity and the partners to quickly scale up aid. But without it, more lives will be left in danger.”
With South Sudan expected to hold elections and complete its political transition under the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement, the growing humanitarian crisis puts additional pressure on both national and international actors to act fast before conditions for refugees and host communities deteriorate even further.