International UNHCR almost completely suspends medical aid in Egypt
Due to drastic funding cuts, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has suspended medical care for refugees in Egypt.
24.03.2025, 16:41
SDA
According to a UNHCR spokeswoman in Geneva, around 20,000 patients are affected and are receiving treatment for cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease, for example. The organization can only finance emergency aid in cases of immediate danger to life. Many of those affected have fled the fighting in Sudan.
In total, more than 900,000 refugees are registered in Egypt. They can see Egyptian doctors, said the spokeswoman, but many lack the money to do so. Aid organizations such as Doctors Without Borders are also active in the country, offering services to refugees free of charge.
In addition to the USA, other countries have also announced cuts to their development aid funding, including the UK and Germany. The USA has frozen a large part of its spending and has not yet decided whether and how much of it will be released again. This is the first concrete, comprehensive cut in services for refugees that the UNHCR has announced since the freezing of US funds.
The loss of US funding is particularly serious because the USA previously covered around 40 percent of the UNHCR budget. They gave a good two billion dollars in 2024. According to the organization, Germany was the second largest donor with around 333 million dollars, ahead of the European Union. The UNHCR has also already cut 400 of its more than 20,000 jobs.
