Addis Abeba — Ethiopia has expressed concern over declining international support for its refugee response, despite continuing to host new arrivals from South Sudan and other neighboring countries.
Speaking at the 76th Session of the UNHCR Executive Committee in Geneva, Teyiba Hassen, Director General of the Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS), said Ethiopia is currently hosting South Sudanese emergency new arrivals "without adequate support from the international community." She warned that the growing influx is putting additional pressure on already limited resources, public services, and local infrastructure.
"The past decade has been extremely challenging for my country," Teyiba said, noting that Ethiopia remains one of the world's largest refugee-hosting nations. "During this period, Ethiopia's refugee population increased from 700,000 to over 1.1 million. Most of these refugees live in protracted situations alongside host communities across eight regional states and the capital, Addis Abeba."
She added that 2025 has been "the most difficult year" yet, as international financing for humanitarian operations continues to decline "to alarming levels" while needs are rising rapidly. "The mismatch between resources and needs is growing wider every day," she said. "The cuts we have seen prevent progress toward durable solutions and threaten to reverse the important gains made over the years, undermining the sustainability of refugee protection and assistance and weakening the resilience of both refugees and host communities."
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Teyiba also extended Ethiopia's appreciation to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi for his decade of leadership, commending his "vision, resilience, and tireless dedication to the cause of displaced people across the world." She highlighted Ethiopia's close cooperation with UNHCR and development partners, including the World Bank, under Grandi's leadership.
"We deeply appreciate High Commissioner Grandi's visits to Ethiopia--from Shire in 2016 to the high-level inclusion dialogue in June 2025--which have advanced inclusion, self-reliance, and sustainable solutions," she said, adding that his recognition of Ethiopia's generosity in the Alamata refugee camp "remains a lasting symbol of shared commitment and solidarity."
Teyiba acknowledged that the past decade has also been difficult for UNHCR, refugee-hosting countries, and the wider international community as forced displacement reaches historic levels and crises continue to emerge worldwide. Despite these challenges, she noted, UNHCR has remained focused "not only on humanitarian response but also on long-term solutions."
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Following significant international aid cuts that have seriously disrupted food distribution, health services, and disease prevention efforts, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) issued a warning in August that the humanitarian situation in the seven refugee camps in Ethiopia's Gambella region, which are home to over 395,000 refugees, primarily from South Sudan, is getting worse.
MSF reported a sharp rise in child malnutrition, malaria cases, and hospital admissions across refugee camps in Gambella. The steep drop in humanitarian aid, driven by global funding cuts from major donors including USAID, has led to the suspension of nutrition programs in four of the seven camps, leaving an estimated 80,000 children under five at risk of severe, life-threatening malnutrition.
