Six months into the year, only 15 per cent of the funds needed for the global refugee response are covered. CARE calls on donors to increase funds in the face of record numbers of displaced people worldwide, with a particular focus on the most underfunded crises.
CARE CANADA, JUNE 20, 2023 – On World Refugee Day, CARE warns that financial support for millions of refugees worldwide has overwhelmingly failed to materialize since the beginning of 2023. Almost six months into the year, the global funding level for the refugee response stands at only 22 per cent of the requested 10 billion US dollars for 2023, according to the Refugee Funding Tracker.
“Millions of people have been forced to leave their homes due to conflict and natural disasters, with large numbers finding refuge in some of the world’s poorest countries,” says Delphine Pinault, CARE United Nations Geneva Representative. “At a time of multiple crises driven by conflict, climate change, economic instability, and rising inflation, we call on the international community to live up to its commitments and immediately increase funding to care for and support all refugees and other displaced people, no matter where they come from or where they are fleeing to. Women and children constitute the majority of the displaced worldwide and face high protection risks, including gender-based violence, trafficking, and various forms of exploitation and abuse when displaced.”
There are currently more displaced people worldwide than ever before. Almost 110 million have been forcibly uprooted, with a majority being internally displaced. The countries hosting the most refugees are Türkiye (3.6 million), Iran (3.4 million), Colombia (2.5 million), Germany (2.1 million), and Pakistan (1.7 million).
For the past 30 years, Dadaab in Kenya is home to one of the largest refugee settlements in the world. Due to funding cuts, each refugee now receives only 80 per cent of the recommended food rations. Without adequate funding, the rations could be reduced even further. “Children sleep under the open sky because there is not enough space in the makeshift shelter their parents built for the family out of old clothes and branches,” says Sarah Easter, CARE Emergency Communications Officer. “The camp is overcrowded and houses three times the number of people it was meant for. There is not enough funding for Dadaab. Media attention is waning and donations are drying up. That‘s why many families in Dadaab go to sleep hungry every night.”
Funding refugee response is essential, but it is far from enough. “The international community needs to address the roots of displacement—including armed conflict and climate—and help communities become more resilient,” says Ms Pinault. “Governments need to deliver on their climate financing commitments from the Paris Agreement and prioritize investments in gender transformative adaptation in fragile contexts and at the local level. Otherwise, families will continue being uprooted from their homes, and numbers of displaced people will continue growing with women, girls, and children bearing the brunt of our collective failure year after year.”
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Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package ℠, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization working around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice. CARE puts women and girls at the centre of our work because we know we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities. CARE develops solutions alongside women and girls to lift themselves, their families, and communities out of poverty and out of crisis. CARE works in over 100 countries around the world.
To learn more about CARE Canada, visit care.ca.