GENEVA, Switzerland: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced Friday that it will reduce its 2026 budget by 17 percent due to falling donor contributions and cut 2,900 jobs.
The ICRC said that “a challenging financial environment in the humanitarian sector” prompted its assembly to approve a 2026 budget of 1.8 billion Swiss francs ($2.2 billion), representing a 17 percent decrease from this year.
The organisation warned that the reductions come at a moment when global conflicts are multiplying and humanitarian needs are rapidly rising.
“We face a dangerous convergence of escalating armed conflicts, significant cuts to aid funding, and a systemic tolerance for grave breaches of international humanitarian law,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement.
“The ICRC remains committed to working on the front lines of conflict, where few others can operate,” she insisted, warning that “the financial reality is forcing us to make difficult decisions to ensure we can continue to deliver critical humanitarian assistance to those who need it most”.
The ICRC said the cuts will require eliminating the equivalent of about 2,900 full-time positions worldwide. The organisation currently employs more than 18,000 staff globally.
The announcement comes as the world faces a severe international aid funding crisis. Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year, the United States — historically the largest global donor — has sharply reduced foreign aid.
Amid rising geopolitical tensions, other major donor nations have also tightened funding and shifted priorities toward increased defense spending.
“As defence budgets surge, states must also put more effort and resources into preventing conflicts, defending the rules of war and providing humanitarian relief,” Spoljaric said.
“Failure to do so risks a world of ever more and greater suffering.”
Even before the current crisis, humanitarian needs were outpacing available resources, ICRC said, pointing to the over 130 active armed conflicts raging worldwide.
In light of its shrinking budget, ICRC said it would need to prioritise safeguarding its presence in the most critical conflict zones, including Sudan, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“No amount of humanitarian funding can match the intensity, duration and scale of today’s conflicts,” Spoljaric said.
“We need urgent action from states to prevent and resolve conflicts, uphold international humanitarian law and ensure that humanitarian organisations such as the ICRC can continue to save lives and alleviate suffering.”
