War displaced 122 million people due to aid falls, UN says: summary

What we know

• 122 million people are currently displaced globally due to war, conflict, and persecution, a record high, leading to 2 million more people displaced by April 2025 compared to the previous year, the UN refugee agency said
• Major conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, and Myanmar are the main drivers of new displacement.
• Despite some returns to Syria following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, they were not enough to offset the rise.
• Humanitarian funding has dropped to 2015 levels, while global displacement has nearly doubled since then. Aid cuts have left millions of displaced people, especially women and children, vulnerable to rape, trafficking, and other risks.
• The UN Refugee Agency warns that the current situation is unsustainable without increased political action and donor support.

What they said

“We are living in a time of intense volatility… marked by acute human suffering,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. He blamed the rise in displacement on prolonged conflicts and lack of meaningful diplomatic efforts to end them. David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee, also warned that cutting aid to fragile states will only fuel more displacement, "without international support, crises will deepen and populations will continue to flee.”