Amman, Nov. 21 (Petra)-- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced on Friday a 17% reduction in its 2026 budget, alongside plans to cut around 2,900 full-time positions out of more than 18,000 employees worldwide.
The organization said the decision comes amid a "challenging financial environment within the humanitarian sector." According to its statement, the ICRC approved a budget of 1.8 billion Swiss francs (about $2.2 billion) for next year significantly lower than the current year’s budget.
The committee warned that the cuts are occurring at a time when global conflicts are rising and humanitarian needs are expanding. ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said the world is facing a "dangerous crossroads" marked by escalating armed conflicts, a sharp decline in funding, and growing tolerance for serious violations of international humanitarian law, according to Euronews.
Despite the financial squeeze, the ICRC affirmed its commitment to maintaining operations on the front lines of conflicts that remain difficult for many organizations to access. However, it stressed that "financial realities force us to make difficult decisions to ensure the continued delivery of life-saving assistance." The announcement comes amid an unprecedented global crisis in international aid funding. International data indicates that the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House earlier this year has been accompanied by major cuts to U.S. foreign aid the world’s largest traditional donor.
At the same time, other major donor countries have tightened their spending and redirected resources toward defense budgets as geopolitical tensions rise, further straining the humanitarian system.
Even before this funding crunch, global humanitarian needs were already outpacing available resources, the organization noted, pointing to more than 130 active armed conflicts around the world.
Given the reduced budget, the ICRC said it will prioritize maintaining its presence in some of the most critical conflict zones, including Sudan, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
//Petra// MF
