The world is facing a displacement crisis of epic proportions, and it's only getting worse. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is sounding the alarm: without significant, sustained investment in long-term solutions, we're headed for deeper trouble. This warning comes from the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review Meeting held in Geneva from December 15th to 17th, 2025.
UNDP is urging for a shift towards robust, long-term investments. This means focusing on essential services, job creation, and strengthening national systems in the countries that are hosting displaced populations.
By the close of 2024, a staggering 117 million people had been uprooted from their homes due to conflict, climate disasters, and economic instability. The majority sought refuge in low- and middle-income countries. And this is the part most people miss: these countries are already under immense economic strain, yet they are hosting 2.5 times more refugees than high-income nations.
UNDP's research across numerous countries demonstrates that strategic development investments can make a real difference. Repairing schools, clinics, water systems, and local markets helps stabilize communities, reduces tensions between host and displaced populations, and supports safe returns and integration.
“The world cannot keep responding to displacement with short-term fixes,” stated Shoko Noda, Director of UNDP’s Crisis Bureau. “Host countries are carrying an impossible burden. Without real development action, global displacement crises will only deepen. The cost of inaction will be far higher than acting now.”
The Global Refugee Forum, the world's largest international gathering on refugee issues, convenes every four years to assess progress and secure new commitments under the Global Compact on Refugees. The 2025 Progress Review Meeting specifically evaluated how governments, international organizations, and partners are fulfilling the pledges made in 2023.
In 2024, UNDP invested over $618 million across more than 60 countries impacted by forced displacement. For example, in Lebanon and Türkiye, job and livelihood programs reached over 1 million people. In Iran, 373,000 Afghan refugees accessed health services through the national system with UNDP's support.
But here's where it gets controversial: these gains are threatened. Global funding for refugee responses decreased in 2024 and is expected to decline again this year. Furthermore, the distribution of support is deeply uneven. Low-income countries, which host 19% of the world's refugees but account for only 0.6% of global wealth, remain chronically underfunded.
Looking ahead to the Global Refugee Forum in 2027, UNDP plans to broaden partnerships with governments, the private sector, and UNHCR. The goals include strengthening national systems, linking climate adaptation efforts with livelihood opportunities and recovery programs, mobilizing climate and development finance, and scaling up joint programming in communities that host, transit, and receive returning populations.
What do you think? Do you agree that long-term development investments are the key to addressing the global displacement crisis, or are there other factors that should be prioritized? Share your thoughts in the comments!
