The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has approved the allocation of 3.5 million euros to support UNHCR’s emergency interventions in Yemen, the Central African Republic and Cameroon. The three interventions are being shared with the newly-established Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
Thanks to the contribution of 1.5 million euros for Yemen, UNHCR will be able to provide protection and assistance to almost 250,000 refugees and 1.2 million internally displaced people fleeing increasingly violent conflict in the country. The funding of 1 million euros for the Central African Republic will allow the High Commission to provide assistance to internally displaced people - almost 450,000 - following the severe instability caused by the attempted coup in December 2013, while the contribution of 1 million euros for Cameroon will serve to alleviate the suffering of around 70,000 Nigerian refugees registered in the northern area of the country following the violence perpetrated by Boko Haram. With this funding, Italy is fulfilling its pledge to join the Group of major donors of the UN High Commission for Refugees as of 2016. The Italian contribution is being made in three countries where refugees and internally displaced people are living in extremely difficult conditions and where the High Commission's action is being supported in the interests of the population involved and the international community as a whole.