ICRC to Cut 2,900 Jobs and Reduce 2026 Budget to $2.2bn as Donor Funding Falls

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has announced major reductions to its 2026 operations, cutting nearly one-fifth of its annual budget and eliminating 2,900 positions as global donor support retreats.

Financial pressure and shifting priorities

ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said the organisation is confronting "a dangerous convergence of escalating armed conflicts, significant cuts to aid funding and a systemic tolerance for grave breaches of international humanitarian law." The ICRC confirmed its spending will fall to $2.2 billion and warned that the broader humanitarian sector is facing a "financial crisis of unprecedented proportions."

"The ICRC remains committed to working on the front lines of conflict, where few others can operate," Spoljaric said, while acknowledging the funding shortfall will force difficult choices to protect core humanitarian work.

A spokesperson noted that the United States remains the ICRC’s largest donor but has reduced contributions this year, echoing cutbacks from other traditional supporters including the United Kingdom and Germany. Governments worldwide have shifted more of their budgets toward defence and security, leaving humanitarian agencies scrambling to sustain programmes as conflict, displacement and needs grow.

Restructuring and priorities

Faced with these combined reductions, the Geneva-based organisation is enacting one of its largest restructurings in decades. The 2,900 job cuts represent roughly 15% of the ICRC’s 18,500-strong workforce and include about 200 posts in Geneva, where the organisation was founded in 1863. Approximately one-third of the staff reductions are expected to come from voluntary departures or positions left unfilled.

To conserve resources, the ICRC said it will merge departments, streamline management and concentrate on frontline conflict operations to preserve its core mandate. Despite the smaller budget, it plans to maintain presence in several high-priority theatres, including Sudan, Ukraine, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Role and recent activity

Active in more than 90 countries, the ICRC supports civilians in conflict zones, visits prisoners of war and acts as a neutral intermediary. Recently, it helped facilitate transfers of detainees between parties in the Israel–Gaza context under terms of a US-backed ceasefire agreement.

Implications

Humanitarian experts warn that reduced funding coupled with rising conflict could force narrower programming, fewer protection activities and diminished capacity to respond to sudden crises. The ICRC’s restructuring highlights the difficult trade-offs aid organisations now face as they try to prioritize life-saving assistance amid shrinking resources.