UNHCR Emergency Response Fund

UNHCR is the United Nations Refugee Agency and the mandated international organisation for refugee protection. It works to ensure that people forced to flee conflict, persecution and human rights violations can find safety and protection. Beyond emergency response, UNHCR also helps refugees rebuild their lives by supporting durable, long-term solutions. Today, UNHCR operates in more than 130 countries, assisting refugees, internally displaced people, asylum-seekers and stateless persons.

When conflict forces families to flee, children cannot wait for funding to arrive. The UNHCR Emergency Response Fund enables humanitarian assistance to begin within 72 hours of the declaration of an emergency. It allows UNHCR to deploy emergency teams, deliver life-saving relief supplies and establish protection services for displaced children and families. The Fund prioritises underfunded and neglected crises, where humanitarian needs are greatest and resources are often limited. In 2025, UNHCR responded to 24 active emergencies across 16 countries. At a time of unprecedented funding constraints, the Emergency Response Fund remains essential to protecting vulnerable children and families during the first days of displacement.