This year, on the 112th World Day for Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV calls on us all to remember the suffering of migrant and refugee children, especially those travelling alone. At JRS, the cornerstone of our work with young people is that these children are...
On Friday, 11th September, we invite you to gather with us at St Aloysius College, B’Kara, for our annual fundraising celebration, Under the Stars. Doors open at 7pm. This event is our yearly event celebrating community, an effort to raise funds for our cause, and an...
We are extremely disappointed that the Equality Minister’s first decision was to wholly ignore human rights NGOs. The Bill to strengthen Malta’s human rights regime and establish a much-needed human rights institution was rushed through Parliament, despite our...
ILGA-Europe have drafted a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola following last week’s shameful scenes at the European Parliament on the occasion of the adoption of the Return Regulation, calling on her to publicly condemn the chanting of the MEPs,...
For a couple of weeks in June the JRS offices had the pleasure of welcoming a group of volunteers from the Boston University. The students participated in job shadowing, received training and joined in on different activities with staff members. As part of our ongoing...
The government of Malta was ordered to pay €5,000 to a teenage asylum seeker for breaching his fundamental rights. Judge Giovanni Grixti ruled that Ayoubah Fona was unlawfully detained as a minor in poor conditions. Lawyer Neil Falzon from aditus foundation, together...
As 2025 draws to a close, we want to thank you for continuing to walk this journey with us, a journey alongside countless refugees and displaced families who long for safety, peace, and a place to belong. Unfortunately, just when the needs are greatest, devastating...
We are deeply concerned at Malta’s statement urging the Council of Europe to explore how to restrict the fundamental human rights of migrants. Packaged as national security measures, the proposals will result in a dramatic lowering of human rights standards in over...
JRS Malta is launching a Call for a Service Contract for the provision of research studies into the lived experiences of asylum seekers and the legal and policy framework regulating access to healthcare for different categories of migrants. This task is part of the...
JRS Malta is teaming up with Jesuits & Friends to launch the latest in a series of our fundraising efforts. This time, we are calling on all running enthusiasts to join the Jesuits & Friends Team at the LifeStar Malta Marathon and help raise funds for JRS in...
Since 2025 the global humanitarian sector has faced slashed budgets and huge funding shortages, as states cut humanitarian aid and increased military spending, clearly choosing to prioritise securitisation over solidarity and care for each other, especially the most vulnerable.
The cuts impacted not only NGOs like JRS, but also UNHCR, the UN agency set up to assist and protect refugees, on which thousands of men, women and children worldwide depend for their most basic needs, like food, shelter, and education.
This, at a time when the number of people forced to flee their homes by conflict, persecution, environmental degradation, and other causes continues to grow – UNHCR is predicting that an estimated 131.2 million people will be forcibly displaced by year end, up from 129.4 million at the end of last year.
On 29 September 2026, UNHCR published a report highlighting the human cost of this “sustained and worsening funding shortfall” and its impact on the Agency’s ability to protect and assist refugees.
Since the dramatic trend in financing the humanitarian system, UNHCR, like many organisations worldwide, was forced to implement substantial cost reduction measures – in 2025 alone, the Agency decreased its workforce by 33% and closed offices in 140 locations worldwide.
Notwithstanding these efforts, according to the report, as of July 2026, UNHCR had received only 32% of its total requirement for the year, leaving nearly 8.3 million forcibly displaced people at risk of losing access to UNHCR assistance.
Falling funding levels are having a dramatic impact on enjoyment of a broad range of rights. In many countries, underfunding is already causing the loss of essential services and systems that protect people forced to flee from violence, exploitation, exclusion, and other risks.
The report warns that “Further cuts can no longer be absorbed without putting people at direct risk – by leaving survivors without safe places to go, children without protection, people without legal status, and returnees without the support they need to reintegrate safely.”
“Unlike food or shelter, protection cannot be rationed into smaller portions for more people: you cannot deliver 60% of a legal status or half a safe house. Below a certain threshold, the system doesn’t shrink, it fails. And this failure leaves people outside of the system unprotected and without the support they need to rebuild their lives.”
The consequences described in the report resonate with organisations working with refugees and asylum seekers much closer to home, including JRS Malta.
Our work is built on the commitment to accompany, serve and advocate for people who have been forcibly displaced, particularly those who find themselves in vulnerable situations. That work depends on resources.
Like many organisations working in the humanitarian and refugee sector, we are experiencing the consequences of an increasingly difficult funding environment. Funding uncertainty inevitably creates difficult choices about how limited resources can be stretched while continuing to provide meaningful support to people who need it.
Yet the stark reality mentioned in this recent report also reminds us on how much solidarity exists within our community. To everyone who has supported JRS Malta, whether through a donation, by sharing our work, volunteering, collaborating with us or simply standing behind our mission, thank you.
Your support helps us continue to be present.
Photo: UNHCR/Reason Moses Runyanga
This year, on the 112th World Day for Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV calls on us all to remember the suffering of migrant and refugee children, especially those travelling alone. At JRS, the cornerstone of our work with young people is that these children are...
On Friday, 11th September, we invite you to gather with us at St Aloysius College, B’Kara, for our annual fundraising celebration, Under the Stars. Doors open at 7pm. This event is our yearly event celebrating community, an effort to raise funds for our cause, and an...
We are extremely disappointed that the Equality Minister’s first decision was to wholly ignore human rights NGOs. The Bill to strengthen Malta’s human rights regime and establish a much-needed human rights institution was rushed through Parliament, despite our...
ILGA-Europe have drafted a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola following last week’s shameful scenes at the European Parliament on the occasion of the adoption of the Return Regulation, calling on her to publicly condemn the chanting of the MEPs,...
For a couple of weeks in June the JRS offices had the pleasure of welcoming a group of volunteers from the Boston University. The students participated in job shadowing, received training and joined in on different activities with staff members. As part of our ongoing...
The government of Malta was ordered to pay €5,000 to a teenage asylum seeker for breaching his fundamental rights. Judge Giovanni Grixti ruled that Ayoubah Fona was unlawfully detained as a minor in poor conditions. Lawyer Neil Falzon from aditus foundation, together...
As 2025 draws to a close, we want to thank you for continuing to walk this journey with us, a journey alongside countless refugees and displaced families who long for safety, peace, and a place to belong. Unfortunately, just when the needs are greatest, devastating...
We are deeply concerned at Malta’s statement urging the Council of Europe to explore how to restrict the fundamental human rights of migrants. Packaged as national security measures, the proposals will result in a dramatic lowering of human rights standards in over...
JRS Malta is launching a Call for a Service Contract for the provision of research studies into the lived experiences of asylum seekers and the legal and policy framework regulating access to healthcare for different categories of migrants. This task is part of the...
JRS Malta is teaming up with Jesuits & Friends to launch the latest in a series of our fundraising efforts. This time, we are calling on all running enthusiasts to join the Jesuits & Friends Team at the LifeStar Malta Marathon and help raise funds for JRS in...
This year, on the 112th World Day for Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV calls on us all to remember the suffering of migrant and refugee children, especially those travelling alone. At JRS, the...
On Friday, 11th September, we invite you to gather with us at St Aloysius College, B’Kara, for our annual fundraising celebration, Under the Stars. Doors open at 7pm. This event is our yearly event...
