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UNHCR forced to make deep cuts amid global surge in refugee needs

The U.N. refugee agency's loss of thousands of staff mirrors other Geneva-based agencies heavily reliant on U.S. funding.

UNHCR's headquarter operations in Geneva is being 'streamlined' to make ends meet.
UNHCR's headquarter operations in Geneva is being 'streamlined' to make ends meet. (AN)

GENEVA (AN) — Days after reporting the number of refugees under its care more than doubled in a decade to 36.8 million last year, UNHCR was forced to announce it must slash 3,500 jobs or around 30% of its global staffing costs due to the Trump administration's abrupt dropoff in U.S. foreign aid.

The U.N. refugee agency said on Monday it has completed a review of its activities, expenditure, staffing, and structures due to a "significant decline" in funding. It repeated its warning from earlier this year that "brutal" funding cuts in the humanitarian sector put millions of lives at risk – and emphasized that the review led to decisions that prioritized keeping operations running in those regions with the most urgent refugee needs.

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