Egypt hosts over one million registered refugees and asylum-seekers, alongside approximately 1.5 million vulnerable migrants, Elena Panova, the UN resident coordinator in Egypt, said during the annual meeting of the Joint Platform for Migrants and Refugees (JPMR) held recently in Cairo.
Over 120 million people globally have been forcibly displaced due to conflict, persecution, climate shocks, economic hardship, and growing instability, she told the participants at the meeting.
“Behind these numbers are individuals and families seeking what every human being deserves: safety, dignity, and the opportunity to rebuild their lives,” Panova said.
The JPMR brought together representatives of the government, UN development partners, and civil society organisations to reaffirm their shared commitment to advancing coordinated, inclusive, and sustainable solutions to support migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, and host communities across Egypt.
Established in 2021, the JPMR has evolved into a key government/UN-led mechanism for coordination and partnership with the aim of strengthening national systems and expanding opportunities for migrants, refugees, and the communities that host them.
This helps to ensure access to quality education, healthcare, and essential services, while contributing to more resilient and inclusive communities.
According to Panova, the JPMR has resulted in a strategic partnership between the Foreign Ministry and the UN, bringing together all the UN agencies working on migration and refugee issues under a single coherent framework for joint planning and implementation alongside national counterparts.
It combines direct support for those in need with sustained investment in national systems and institutional capacity, she said.
Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Affairs and International Security Amr Al-Sherbini said that there is a need to move beyond coordination to maximising impacts through stronger links between humanitarian and development interventions and giving greater support to national systems.
He said that there is a growing need for enhanced international support, particularly financial, in the light of the ongoing regional crises and increasing arrivals, stressing that such support should reflect the scale of the challenges faced by host countries.
There are 1.1 million refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the UN refugee agency the UNHCR in Egypt as of 31 May. According to UNHCR Egypt, Sudanese nationals make up the largest refugee population, accounting for around 851,000 people. Other refugee groups originate from Syria (around 98,000) and South Sudan (around 56,000), alongside smaller populations from other nations.
Deputy Ambassador of the EU Delegation in Egypt Anne Schouw said that the challenges faced by migrants, refugees, and host communities cannot be solved through fragmented, short-term interventions.
“Through the Joint Platform, we are providing immediate, tangible support to Egypt’s national health, education, and protection systems so they can sustain essential services under this immense pressure,” she said.
The EU is anchoring its support directly to the priorities of the Egyptian government, she added.
Panova praised Egypt’s refugee-hosting model as particularly important because of its commitment to inclusion. Refugees and migrants are not isolated in camps but live within communities and are able to access education, healthcare, and public services alongside Egyptian citizens.
Although this reflects a deeply human-centred approach, it also places considerable pressure on national systems, public infrastructure, and local communities already facing significant economic challenges.
Efforts to find sustainable solutions that address the needs of all communities living side by side are also severely constrained by declining funding.
UNHCR Egypt is significantly underfunded, for example. For 2026, it requires $133.5 million to respond to the needs of refugees and asylum-seekers in Egypt. As of 31 May, only 26 per cent of the required funding had been received, leaving a funding gap of more than $98 million.
The resources available have failed to keep pace with overall needs. Despite a sharp increase in arrivals, the UNHCR in Egypt had roughly the same level of funding in
2025 as it did in 2022 before the Sudan crisis stretched already limited resources even further, a press release said.
On average, UNHCR’s available funding per person has dropped from $11 per month in 2022 to just $4 per month in 2025, covering all forms of support from direct financial assistance to healthcare and protection services.
It does not attribute the funding shortfalls to specific donor countries.
“We continue to call on the international community, including governments, international financial institutions, the private sector and other partners, to strengthen support and share responsibility for protecting and assisting refugees and the countries hosting them,” a UNHCR statement said.
The UN remains clear in its message: migration, when governed safely and humanely, is a powerful driver of development, Panova said, adding that refugees also require international protection, solidarity, and equitable responsibility-sharing among nations.
No country should carry this responsibility alone. “In an increasingly interconnected world, global solidarity is not optional, it is our shared responsibility,” she concluded.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 July, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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