![Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope is pictured during an interview with the Ukrinform Ukrainian National News Agency, Kyiv. [Kirill Chubotin / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-2147742170.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The UN migration agency chief today warned of even bigger programme cuts in 2026 after announcing a record budget drop of nearly 30 per cent this year, as US-funded programmes end and other donors retrench, Reuters reports.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) had already announced a major scale-back in projects after US President Donald Trump’s foreign aid cuts, warning that it would affect thousands of staff and have a severe impact on migrants.
The IOM’s American Director-General Amy Pope said there would be a projected fall in its budget from $4 billion to $2.89 billion.
This is already affecting efforts to help refugee resettlement programmes and work in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and with Rohingya refugees.
“[2026] is where we anticipate seeing the biggest impact on budget – not of course just because of the United States but we have heard from many of our donors that you anticipate additional cuts to your humanitarian and development financing,” Pope said at a meeting in Geneva.
The US, which accounts for over 40 per cent of IOM funding, said this month that 80 per cent of programmes at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) had been cancelled.
Pope said the IOM was still getting updates from Washington on the impacts but warned that even contracts approved by the US government could expire later this year.
She added that the Geneva-based organisation estimates that 7,000 jobs will be affected – up slightly from its previous estimate of 6,000 – but some staff may be re-hired.
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