When funding falls short, humanitarian work becomes an exercise in painful trade‑offs. The decision to assist one family inevitably means another must face their emergency alone. This reality reflects the immense strain that the global humanitarian system is under today.
Driven by widening conflict, climate shocks and socioeconomic collapse, forced displacement continues to rise to record levels while the resources available to respond shrink sharply due to global funding cuts.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR’s most recent Global Mid-year Trends Report, nearly 120 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced at the end of June last year, as a result of persecution, conflict and human rights violations – a scale of suffering that represents about one in every 70 people on Earth.
At the same time, across the UN system, agencies are facing historic budget cuts that directly affect whether vulnerable families can eat, access clean water and healthcare services or receive protection. UNHCR estimates that up to 11.6 million refugees and others forced to flee risk losing access to direct humanitarian assistance. This widening gap between needs and resources has exposed a structural vulnerability in the way that humanitarian action is financed. Reliance on a narrow pool of governmental donors, subject to political cycles and fiscal tightening, has left aid responses increasingly fragile.
The challenge before us is no longer only how to deliver assistance more efficiently, but how to rethink the foundations of humanitarian financing itself.
One of the most consequential, yet still under-examined, shifts in humanitarian financing has been the growing role of Islamic philanthropy. Long embedded in social and ethical traditions across the Muslim world, mechanisms such as zakat and sadaqah are now being engaged in new ways to address contemporary humanitarian crises.
Islamic charity – whether mandatory such as zakat, or optional such as sadaqah – represents a renewable and predictable source of funding that dwarfs current humanitarian requirements. Conservative estimates suggest that if fully paid, annual zakat resources could reach about $350 billion, far exceeding the roughly $50 billion required for global humanitarian response in a typical year. Even capturing a small fraction of this potential can transform lives and stabilise communities in crisis zones.
Our experience at UNHCR, as the first UN agency to establish a dedicated Islamic philanthropy programme, has shown that faith-based giving can be aligned with humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and accountability without diluting any of them. Technology has played a critical role in this evolution. Tools such as digital zakat platforms, including UNHCR’s zakat app that allows donors to calculate and channel their zakat and sadaqah directly to eligible beneficiaries, have helped bridge trust gaps, improve transparency and make faith-based giving more accessible to a global donor base.
The findings of last year’s UNHCR Islamic Philanthropy Annual Report offer a snapshot of how this model is being used to make real-world impact. In a single year, zakat and sadaqah contributions supported more than one million refugees and internally displaced people across 25 countries, including contexts as diverse as Afghanistan, Jordan, Bangladesh, Yemen and, for the first time, Colombia and Brazil as well as Botswana and the Central African Republic. These resources have enabled assistance to reach communities often overlooked during funding shortfalls, while maintaining strict eligibility criteria and Sharia compliance.
Other parts of the UN system have begun adopting similar approaches. This broader uptake suggests that Islamic philanthropy is an emerging pillar within humanitarian financing.
The Gulf has been central to this shift. Beyond its role as a major source of philanthropic capital, the region has invested in the infrastructure that enables humanitarian action at scale. The UAE, which hosts UNHCR’s largest Global Stockpiles at Dubai Humanitarian, has become a critical node in the rapid mobilisation and delivery of relief in the region and worldwide.
The effectiveness of UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund lies in the values and structures that support it. Its sustainability comes from its renewable nature. Zakat is not a one-off contribution, but a recurring obligation tied to ethical wealth redistribution. Its inclusivity stems from a framework designed to support human need broadly, without distinction of nationality. And its effectiveness is reinforced by governance mechanisms that prioritise transparency, eligibility and direct assistance.
Equally important is trust.
Donors increasingly demand assurance that their contributions reach those most in need, in ways that respect both humanitarian standards and religious principles. Zakat institutional models meet these expectations as 100 per cent of donations go directly into the hands of eligible beneficiaries guided by independent Sharia oversight and supported by several religious rulings. This combination of accountability and faith-based governance has helped translate individual giving into a transparent, system-level response to displacement. Since 2017, for example, more than 70,000 donors worldwide have entrusted UNHCR with their zakat.
Islamic philanthropy is not a replacement for governmental responsibility or international solidarity. Amid constrained public budgets and protracted crises, it offers a powerful complement that broadens the base of humanitarian financing while reaffirming shared human values.
As the humanitarian system adapts to a more uncertain future, intentional and responsible integration of faith-based financing is essential. The experience of recent years suggests that when belief-driven generosity is paired with institutional accountability, it can help chart a more resilient and inclusive path forward.
This is important given that for millions displaced by conflict and crisis, innovation in humanitarian financing is a matter of survival.
