No Room at the Inn? An Urgent Global Call to Action for Refugee Children

Amid record global displacement, Fola Komolafe, CEO World Vision UK, urges leaders to put compassion and children’s rights at the heart of refugee policy, challenging rhetoric that focuses on borders over humanity. She calls for bold, coordinated action—funding resilience, supporting host nations, enabling safe returns, and expanding third-country solutions—to turn promises into progress for refugee children. Drawing on Christian teachings and personal stories, she highlights the urgent need for solidarity, reminding us that every refugee is a life waiting to be rebuilt. As the world celebrates Christmas, Komolafe challenges us: now is not the time to say there’s no room at the inn—let compassion lead the way.

Throughout 2025, a topic close to my heart has dominated many headlines, social media platforms and political debates in the UK and across the world: migration, asylum and refuge. 

It’s not a new issue. Populations have moved around the globe for the whole of our human existence, finding new places to settle based on drivers such as food sources, opportunities for work, for safety, for cultural cohesion – some voluntary, but many forced. 

And yet a worrying rhetoric has raised its head this year, and discussions fixated on cutting aid budgets and strengthening border management policies seem to be missing the point. 

Migration – when forced by the need to urgently find refuge (forced displacement) – is a global problem that requires global solutions, and compassion rather than contempt. 

For millions of people, 2025 was the year that their last lifeline was shattered, and with no choices left, families were forced to flee the places they called home, cultures they knew, to seek shelter and safety and a chance for their children to have a future. Over 117 million people currently find themselves displaced from their homes due to conflict and violence. 117 million people too many.
 

Living out God’s word; providing refuge and strength

As a Christian leader for a global humanitarian organisation, I find myself exposed to the stark needs in the world right now, but also rooted in the teachings of the Bible.

Christian teachings call on us to love our neighbours and to welcome the stranger. Psalm 46 reminds us that God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble, and we are advised to act in his image (Ephesians 5:1-5), demonstrating the love of God through practical actions (Matthew 25 30-34). It’s all there.

So, when I hear stories of mothers like Afisa, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who currently lives in a small house made of sacks with her 11 children, my heart is moved to act. A story of a mother who had to leave her home within a 72-hour window due to increasing conflict and danger for her children. And these stories are increasing arriving thick and fast from Sudan, from South Sudan, from Afghanistan, from Somalia - to name just a few. Mothers seeking safety from violence against themselves and their children. Fathers are desperate for food to save their children from the jaws of acute malnutrition. Elderly grandparents working day and night as caregivers and providers for orphaned grandchildren, but fast losing hope that a better, safer time will come. 

All scared for their futures. All scared for survival.

I’m in a privileged position that, with the right resources, I know we can ensure help does come to those who need it. One in three of those who receive humanitarian assistance receive it from World Vision, so I know the solutions are there. But we need scale. And we need it in the right places.
 

Putting children at the heart

Conflict, climate factors, and economic instability are driving displacement to record levels. With one in five children worldwide, living in or fleeing conflict zones (Global Humanitarian Review 2026), the urgency to accelerate global solutions for refugee children and displaced populations couldn't be clearer. Putting children at the heart of solutions for the refugee crisis should be the imperative.

This week in Geneva, world leaders convened at the UN Global Refugee Forum to chart a path for displaced communities. Representing the Initiative for Child Rights in the Global Compact – where World Vision plays a key role – I had the privilege of delivering a joint statement championing the rights of the most vulnerable: children.

Together with a coalition of over 30 agencies, World Vision is committed to raising the importance of the Multistakeholder Pledge on Child Rights and to turn promises for refugee populations into progress and action to achieve what is needed for children, now. We need to make sure that children’s rights and children’s voices are fully represented and that funding is allocated where it’s needed most. 
 

A pivotal moment to deliver global solutions with compassion

Many nations are spending time debating how to tighten border controls but that’s not the solution.

Here’s what we’re asking for:

• Governments to ease pressure of host countries - 73% of refugees settle in neighbouring countries - most of which are low or middle-income nations, placing enormous strain on already stretched resources. 

• Government funding to enhance refugee resilience, ensuring people can rebuild their own lives through education, livelihoods, and psychosocial support. Not handouts, but long-term sustainable support focused on integration and self-sufficiency.

• Governments to expand access to third-country solutions.  Not every neighbouring country can offer suitable and safe refuge to a displaced family, in which case third-country access and support is essential. 

• Support to countries of origin to enable displaced families to return in safety and dignity. It's often misunderstood that refugees want to return to the place they call home when it’s safe to do so. Home is where the heart is. Creating conditions for voluntary, safe, and dignified return means investing in peacebuilding, infrastructure, and human rights protections in countries of origin.

Now is the time for bold, coordinated action that matches the scale of this crisis. 
 

Jesus in the shoes of a refugee child

The irony of the timing of this piece isn’t lost on me - as many celebrate Christmas this month, we must remind ourselves that during His time on earth, Jesus put himself into the shoes of a refugee child, escaping with his parents from a tyrannical ruler who was putting his life in danger, a family leaving home suddenly, to a new land, with no possessions, no home, a different language. 

Would we have turned him away? 

In this season of giving, for generosity, for human kindness, I hope the plight of refugees feels real for decision-makers and those who hold them to account, and that compassion shines through.

In 2026, let us be the generation that turns promises into progress.

Every pledge, every partnership, every act of solidarity matters, from grassroots to government, because behind every refugee is a human life waiting to be rebuilt, a child waiting to start their future.

Now is not the time to say there’s no room at the inn.

About the Author:
Fola Komolafe, CEO of World Vision UK since 2023, leads the UK arm of the world’s largest children’s charity, driving impact across 100 countries to tackle poverty and respond to crises. A former senior executive at HSBC, IBM, and Mazars, Fola has spearheaded global development projects and co-founded UK charities empowering youth. Honoured with an MBE and multiple leadership awards, her vision is rooted in a lifelong commitment to equality for children shaped by early experiences in Nigeria.