UNHCR seeks alternative funding as major donors tighten their grip

With contributions from the major donors drying up gradually, the UNHCR, the UN agency for protecting refugees and forcibly displaced communities, is now looking for donations from alternative countries and sources, including Bangladesh, officials said.
The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) is working with the government as the lead coordinator of the UN and various international agencies on humanitarian activities for the Rohingya population in Bangladesh.
In 2024, the UNHCR spent some $119 million in Bangladesh, which was the second-highest spending in the Asia-Pacific countries, where the agency carried out its activities.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) officials said in the recent years many developed countries have lowered their contributions to the UNHCR, causing fund crisis for the humanitarian organisation. In this situation, the UNHCR has started collecting funds from alternative sources and countries.
Subsequently, among these non-traditional donors, the Philippines gave $150,000 to the UNHCR fund in 2025, Algeria $100,000, Indonesia $53,000, and Thailand $20,000, along with some other developing countries.
The Bangladesh permanent mission in Geneva, in a recent letter, suggested that Dhaka should also contribute to the UNHCR fund in this crisis moment, which would help strengthen the country's position in multilateral diplomacy.
Moreover, Bangladesh would be able to effectively participate in the decision-making process of the agency as a donor country, it added.
The MoFA suggested the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to annually contribute some $10,000 to the UNHCR, the similar amount Bangladesh pays to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) each year.
"The UNHCR activities play a pivotal role in protecting the Rohingya refugees, who have taken shelter in Bangladesh. The agency also has role in preventing fresh exodus of Rohingya people from Myanmar," the MoFA noted.
Also, the ministry opined that if Bangladesh can be increasingly involved in the UNHCR's decision-making process, it would help resolve Rohingya repatriation-related problems faster.
A senior official of the Finance Division told the Financial Express that it recently received the MoFA's opinion.
"Bangladesh makes donations to various international organisations every year. Contributing to the UNHCR fund at this crisis moment will be a "right decision," he opined.
Over a million Rohingya people have been staying in Bangladesh for years, after being forced to leave Myanmar amid ethnic cleansing.

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