By Abraham Tekle & Nardos Yoseph
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has issued a grave warning regarding the deepening humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, citing the country will require close to USD 600 million to support more than 1.6 million people, including refugees, returnees, and host communities, as new arrivals and ongoing crises continue to strain already stretched systems.
While Ethiopia maintains a dedicated “open-door” asylum policy, the sheer volume of arrivals from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan has exhausted available resources, according to the 2026 Ethiopia Country Refugee Response Plan.
The report reveals that 38 humanitarian partners are requesting USD 577.8 million for 2026 to support 1.2 million refugees and nearly 440,000 vulnerable host community members.
The report notes that “continued arrivals from Sudan… renewed conflict… and new arrivals from Somalia contributed to sustained humanitarian pressures throughout 2025,” adding that this has placed additional strain on national systems already contending with internal displacement, climate shocks, economic pressures, and widespread food insecurity.
It also highlights a “critical” education gap that threatens to leave an entire generation behind.
“Although 38.1 percent of the refugee population is school-aged, only 43.7 percent of these children attend primary school,” reads the report, adding that the secondary school enrollment has plummeted to just 14.4 percent.
UNHCR warns that severe funding gaps may force total school closures, reversing years of progress in refugee integration.
The report added that climate-related shocks, including devastating droughts and floods, further exacerbate this hunger, leaving families unable to meet basic nutritional needs.
Shelter conditions are also deteriorating. The report states that only about 30 percent of refugees are living in habitable shelters, while less than half of families report feeling safe in their shelters.
These hardships, according to UNHCR, drive significant protection risks; budget cuts which have already shuttered 26 women and girls’ friendly spaces, removing vital safety nets for survivors of violence.
The report notes that 72 percent of refugee children suffer from high levels of trauma and stress, recommending that a radical “paradigm shift” in the international response is key.
To address these mounting challenges, the UNHCR report recommends a strategic shift toward long-term resilience by accelerating the “Makatet” roadmap to fully integrate refugees into national health, education, and digital identity systems.
The report further calls for the creation of sustainable settlement models that bolster self-reliance by granting refugees the right to work and access to formal financial services. Additionally, the agency emphasizes the urgent need for climate-resilient solutions, urging partners to invest in clean energy and environmental protection to shield displaced populations from the increasing impact of climate-related shocks.
UNHCR and its partners now call on the international community to provide urgent, predictable funding to translate these progressive policies into tangible opportunities for refugees and their hosts alike.
