Cities Receive Only 1.2% of Humanitarian Funding

Samer Saliba, interim director of the Mayors Migration Council, explains that cities are the most effective leaders in managing migration, despite receiving minimal international aid. The Mayors Migration Council—a coalition of roughly 290 cities—is pushing for changes in how humanitarian aid is distributed. Currently, about 70% of displaced people worldwide seek refuge in urban areas, but local governments received only 1.2% of all international humanitarian funding in 2022.

Saliba notes that cuts to funding from USAID and UN agencies threaten assistance to 123.2 million refugees and over 280 million migrants globally. In cities like Bogotá and Guayaquil, projects funded by USAID faced closure or required local funding when aid stopped. The organization supports cities like Accra, Ghana, which integrates climate migrants into formal waste management cooperatives, providing healthcare and childcare.

While cities can implement positive national policies and advocate for local needs, their power is limited by national regulations. The Mayors Migration Council continues to develop models for green job creation, estimating a need for three to six million migrant workers by 2040 to avoid a nearly $450 billion loss in global GDP.