The Paralympic Games will go ahead as planned despite major budget cuts from the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, the International Paralympic Committee said Friday.
The IPC confirmed that local organizers have slashed the original planned budget for the Games, which start Sept. 7.
Cuts are to be made to the workforce, transport and venues, while 10 countries are struggling to finance sending teams to Rio because of the late arrival of National Paralympic Committee grants from the event's organizing committee.
IPC president Philip Craven admits the current issues surrounding the Games are the most difficult in Paralympic history but vowed to find solutions.
"Never before in the 56-year history of the Paralympic Games have we faced circumstances like this," Craven said at a news conference.
"Since becoming aware of the full scale of the problem, we have focused all of our efforts on finding solutions to the problems.
"At the IPC we are a relatively small but united organzation. It's in our Paralympic DNA to see obstacles as an opportunity to do things differently and that's what we are doing here.
"We are problem-solvers by nature and fight for what we believe in."
MORE: The 31 greatest olympic athletes
An additional 150 million Brazilian reals (approximately $46.4 million) have been secured after discussions with Rio mayor Eduardo Paes, while a further 100 million reals (almost $31 million) is set to be provided by sponsorship from state-run companies.
NPC grants that were due to be paid by the end of July are now set to be delivered after this generation of funds, but Craven suggested that may come too late for some countries.
"Currently we have around 10 countries who, even if the grants are paid, may struggle to cover the cost of their travel to the Games. The IPC is working with them to find solutions and ensure their participation here in Rio," he said.
"We want full participation here. We want all eligible countries to send their athletes to the Games. It's what the athletes deserve and it is what the athletes want after years of training and dedication."
Despite the budget cuts, Craven is confident that the Games will play a significant role in promoting social changes in Brazil and Latin America.
On Wednesday, it was announced that just 12 percent of tickets for the Games had been sold.