Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
▪ UNHCR released the Mid-year Report on the Afghanistan Situation Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP). Conditions for refugees and Afghans of other statuses in host countries have deteriorated since the launch of the RRP earlier this year, compounded by rising living costs and lack of livelihoods opportunities across the region. To support host governments and to reduce the impact on vulnerable populations, partners continue to adopt a community- and areabased approach by working through government systems – wherever possible – in the spirit of burden sharing. Of note, nearly 350,000 Afghans have been supported to access secondary and tertiary healthcare services, over 165,000 children (including Afghan refugees, Afghans of other status and members of the host community) supported to access primary and secondary education and some 12,500 received unconditional multi-purpose cash assistance.
▪ From 30 October to 2 November, UNHCR Director of External Relations, Ms Dominique Hyde and Ms Ellen Hansen,
UNHCR Deputy Director for the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, visited Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan’s Jalalabad, the delegation had the opportunity to speak with communities receiving assistance, including women and other vulnerable groups and witnessed the impact of UNHCR projects. The delegation also met with the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) Roza Otunbayeva, Deputy SRSG Ramiz Alakbarov, senior de facto authorities, the UN Country Team, members of the diplomatic corps, programme partners and the NGO community in Kabul. In Pakistan, they met with authorities, including the Minister of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Senator Muhammad Talha Mehmood, SAFRON Secretary Pervaiz Ahmed Junejo and provincial Commissioner for Afghan Refugees (CAR) Muhammad Abbas Khan, as well as UN agencies, the diplomatic corps, DAFI scholars, and refugee families affected by the floods in Peshawar (Balochistan).
▪ In Afghanistan, winter has arrived amid a steep economic decline, and only months after June’s earthquake in southeastern Paktika and Khost provinces. Against this harsh backdrop, UNHCR is continuing to provide targeted seasonal support via the provision of warm clothing, blankets, heaters and fuel, emergency shelter improvements as well as repairs and upgrades to shelters in poor condition and rental support in communities where climate conditions are severe. UNHCR has committed over $16 million targeting over 380,000 individuals (54,300 families) who have inadequate heating sources and whose houses were affected by the June earthquake.
▪ Advocacy by the humanitarian community to mitigate the negative consequences of a new Code of Conduct introduced by de facto authorities in Afghanistan governing the activities of NGOs providing humanitarian assistance continues. Despite the challenges this has had on the delivery of much-needed assistance, UNHCR remains committed to supporting vulnerable communities.
▪ In Pakistan, UNHCR continues to support the government-led response to scale up assistance for flood-affected refugee and host communities. In October, a Supplementary Appeal was launched requesting some $65.8 million to cover the immediate and mid-term needs of flood-affected communities from September 2022 to December 2023.
While the immediate priority has been to provide relief items to the worst flood-hit areas to address critical needs, reprioritizing activities for early recovery and rehabilitation is also well underway.