With humanitarian budgets facing unprecedented constraints, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is intensifying its call for Zakat and Sadaqah donations during Ramadan to address critical gaps in refugee assistance programs worldwide. The appeal comes as funding reductions force suspensions of essential services including medical care, education, child protection, and shelter provisions across multiple crisis zones including Egypt, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Bangladesh.
The agency’s recently released 8th Islamic Philanthropy Annual Report reveals that nearly 60% of all Zakat and Sadaqah contributions in 2025 originated from MENA region donors, with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia emerging as leading contributors. The report highlights how faith-based giving is increasingly serving as a vital humanitarian lifeline amid tightening budgets.
Notable initiatives include the Dubai-based Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, which supported approximately 70,000 forcibly displaced people across seven nations through country-wide fundraising campaigns. The Refugee Zakat Fund demonstrated significant impact, raising over $23 million in Zakat contributions—surpassing previous records—while assisting more than 579,000 refugees and internally displaced persons across 17 countries. Complementary Sadaqah contributions reached nearly $16 million, supporting over 453,000 individuals across 18 nations.
Collectively, strategic partnerships and campaigns generated $39 million in 2025, enabling assistance to more than one million people across 25 countries. This effort was bolstered by 45 major donors and Islamic institutions alongside tens of thousands of online supporters who entrusted UNHCR with their charitable distributions.
Dr. Khaled Khalifa, Senior Advisor to the High Commissioner for Refugees for Islamic Philanthropy and Regional Representative to GCC countries, emphasized the tangible consequences of funding reductions: ‘Amidst a year of unprecedented budget cuts, the humanitarian lifeline has been left fraying with millions of displaced families hanging on by a thread. These cuts are not abstract figures—they are felt in the lives of real people who, after being forced to flee their homes, are being pushed to the edge of survival every day.’
The report also documents expanded geographical reach, with Islamic philanthropy extending to four new countries in 2025: Brazil, Colombia, the Central African Republic, and Botswana. Sadaqah Jariyah activities reached Bangladesh, where 280,000 people gained improved access to clean water for communities, agriculture, and livestock.
Since its establishment in 2017, the Refugee Zakat Fund has raised over $300 million from more than 70,000 donors, supporting nearly 10 million beneficiaries across 36 countries. Endorsed by 18 fatwas, the Fund stands as a legitimate mechanism for mobilizing Islamic charitable resources to address global displacement crises.