The UN agency that helps refugees, asylum seekers and people forcibly displaced within their own countries has been put on a savings drive.

This comes after U.S President Donald Trump ordered a suspension of humanitarian assistance.

“While we are still assessing the impact of the new U.S. administration’s decision, including possible exceptions, we are implementing a series of temporary precautionary measures to mitigate the impact of this funding uncertainty,” said a spokeswoman for the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, on Wednesday.

The British newspaper, The Guardian, earlier reported that UNHCR head Filippo Grandi had sent an email that instructed staff to temporarily halt recruitment and international travel.

The newspaper further reported that Mr Grandi also halted orders of new supplies, except when needed for emergency assistance.

The UNHCR refused to comment on the email.

The United States contributes around a fifth of the budget of the organisation, which has around 20,000 employees and takes care of more than 120 million refugees worldwide.

In 2024, the United States paid over $2 billion to the UNHCR.

The U.S. State Department announced the temporary freeze of foreign aid on Sunday, but there is confusion in Washington and abroad over which programmes are affected.

(dpa/NAN)