ISLAMABAD: The UN refugee agency has lauded the Pakistani government’s efforts to include all vulnerable individuals regardless of their nationality or status in its bid to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

“The UNHCR welcomes the recent directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan to include the most vulnerable internally displaced people and Afghan refugees in the overall relief assistance and support schemes,” said UNHCR Deputy Representative Iain Hall in a statement on Monday.

In his statement he also highlighted some of the tangible support that the UNHCR has provided to the government amid the pandemic. These include 10 fully equipped ambulances and 28 large housing unit facilities to the provincial health departments and the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

In addition, the UN refugee agency has distributed medical supplies, personal protective equipment and sanitation products, such as sanitary clothes, soap and disinfectants, and other relief items to rural health facilities to support refugees and their host communities in Pakistan.

Last week, the UNHCR announced a Rs1,000 mobile top-up for each of its 3,000 outreach volunteers and community mobilisers across the country to strengthen digital communication. This support will assist in further transmitting information on Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, said the statement.

The UNHCR together with the Ministry of SAFRON and the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees and NGO partners are also in the process of upgrading water and sanitation facilities in health centres and schools in refugee villages across the country, it further stated.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2020