ISLAMABAD: The Euro­pean Union is providing 10 million euros to significantly boost the UNHCR’s assistance for Afghan refugees and their host communities in Pakistan.

The funding will focus on mitigating the short- and medium-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With this funding, the UNHCR will expand its health response as well as improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities in refugee and host communities. Another important component of the new project will be implementing activities that help protect and empower vulnerable Afghan refugees and host communities, including through livelihood opportunities.

Funding will focus on mitigating impact of Covid-19 pandemic

The three-year project will be implemented across the country and is expected to benefit some 370,000 Afghan refugees and Pakistani host communities.

The Ambassador of the EU delegation to Pakistan, Androulla Kaminara, and UNHCR Representative in Pakistan Noriko Yoshida signed the agreement at a ceremony on Monday.

The agreement coincides with the quadrennial Afghanistan Conference held in Geneva, which is intended to present an important opportunity for the Afghan government and the international community to commit to common objectives for promoting sustainable development, prosperity and peace in Afghanistan.

At the signing ceremony, Ms Kaminara said: “As the world faces a second surge of Covid-19, it is clearer than ever that we must assist the most vulnerable and the most in need. We are glad to partner with the UNHCR in assisting the Afghan refugee community, which is generously hosted in Pakistan, as well as the Pakistani host communities.”

Placing the support for refugees in a larger political context, the Ambassador underlined: “The European Union has reaffirmed its strong support to an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process which ultimately would ensure safety, fundamental rights and prosperity for all Afghans and allow refugees to return to their homeland in safety and dignity.”

UNHCR Representative in Pakistan, Ms Yoshida, welcomed the EU’s contribution and said such support amid the current Covid-19 pandemic demonstrates the EU’s commitment to “leaving no one behind”. “This support is truly significant. At a time when it is most urgently needed, the EU will help make a difference in the lives of so many refugees and Pakistani host communities impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.

She said that the UNHCR’s overall emergency response is in support of efforts by the government of Pakistan to prevent and respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. She added that UNHCR has been advocating the inclusion of refugees in the government’s Covid-19 prevention and response plan.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2020