PESHAWAR: The UNHCR and Afghan Commissionerate have jointly launched a school improvement programme in the refugees hosting areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A statement issued here on Wednesday said two girls and three boys’ primary schools would be upgraded in Peshawar alone under the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) initiative, at a cost of Rs19.2 million. Primary School No1 in Tehkal Bala, Peshawar, was recently upgraded under the project.

Federal Secretary Safron Mohammad Shehzad Arbab inaugurated the school.

The UN agency has provided Rs902 million financial assistance for the project.

The statement said that under RAHA initiative a total of 298 projects had been implemented in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in multiple sectors, including health, education, water and sanitation and livelihood.

The programme is simultaneously underway in urban and rural areas.

The initiative was launched following the four-decade-long stay of Afghan refugees in KP, Balochistan and tribal area which has badly affected the infrastructure and depleted the resources in these regions.

The RAHA initiative is a core component of the regional solutions strategy for Afghan refugees endorsed by the Afghan government, Iran and UNHCR in May 2012 to provide a predictable roadmap for solutions and better management of Afghan refugees in the region.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2017