IN VIEW of the forcible displacement of 136 million of the world’s population, the Anglican Communion has called for urgent resistance to the “increasingly powerful narratives that polarise how we see refugees and how we speak of them”.
Refugees are often reduced to slogans to gather votes, and many will be stateless, the statement for World Refugee Day, on Saturday, says. “We write to resist the status quo creating this chaos, defined by violence, othering and a transactional regard for human life — a status quo foreign to the Kingdom of God and the love that Christ teaches his disciples.”
The statement has been written by the Anglican Communion’s representatives on the UNHCR Multi-Religious Council of Leaders: the Archbishop of Tanzania, the Most Revd Maimbo Mndolwa, and the Bishop in Charge, the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, the Rt Revd Mark D. W. Edington.
The statement speaks of “the extraordinary courage shown daily by refugees and displaced people” and challenges Anglicans to work across lines of geography and culture to improve their response. World leaders should “have the courage to engage in dialogue . . . about our shared responsibilities”.
It continues: “How we respond to the most vulnerable is a test of our integrity and courage — and indeed of our very humanity. Public discourse about refugees must not be driven by fear, exclusion or political expediency. It must call us to work together in the shared interests of all of humanity and to do so in pursuit of justice, peace, human dignity, and sustainability, especially for the most vulnerable. Now is the time to stand together to resist divisive narratives.”
The statement also gives thanks for the “quiet, faithful work of thousands of Anglicans and churches around the world who strive each day to treat refugees with compassion dignity and understanding”.
World Vision has commented on the impact of aid cuts on education. Humanitarian funding fell 40 per cent in 2025, leaving more than 72 per cent of global needs unmet among forcibly displaced families and host communities, it says.
Refugees, already facing the highest levels of food insecurity, are hit hardest, which puts children at seven times the risk of child marriage and child labour, the charity’s report says. In a new survey of 3500 households across eight countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, 21 per cent reported irregular school attendance.
The study suggested that when assistance dwindled, families were pushed into harmful survival strategies. Fifty-seven per cent of the respondents said that at least one household member had gone to sleep hungry in the past month.
It quoted a 15-year-old boy from South Sudan: “If I returned to school, I would be happy and would make friends. Going back would bring back my memories. But since I came here, I have not held a book. I am almost forgetting how to read.”
Sixty-four per cent of the surveyed households were relying on assistance to meet basic needs. The World Food Programme (WFP) had estimated that 318 million people across 68 countries are experiencing acute food insecurity, and that 41.1 million are in crisis.
“The scale of the crisis needs to be matched with decisive, adequately funded action,” says Amanda Rives, senior director of humanitarian policy, advocacy and partnerships at World Vision. “Governments and donors must act with urgency and flexible support so children and their families can move from survival to stability and hope.”