A comparative analysis of united nations high commissioner for refugees funding for African and Asian refugees, 1960–2010

It is an open secret that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is at the vanguard of bringing succor to refugees globally. Although many studies have been carried out on UNHCR funding in Africa and Asia, not many have made comparisms between the two, hence the need for this study. The paper contends that UNHCR funding of refugees in Asia surpasses that of Africa despite the fact that Africa produces the highest number of refugees than any other region in the world. Indeed, in June 2008, it was observed that UNHCR funding was about 70% in Asia while that of Africa was 20%. Could this disparity be due to the politics of funding, or are there other determinant factors? These questions and many more are addressed in this paper. The study adopts the use of primary and secondary data. Primary sources are obtained from oral interviews of UNHCR officials and some African refugees in Nigeria, while secondary sources are obtained from the critical appraisal of UNHCR documents as well as relevant literature on funding in Africa and Asia.