The UNHCR Bureau for East, Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes (EHAGL), in collaboration with the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), is organizing the 2021 Regional NGO Consultations. The themes will be: Localization of Humanitarian Action and Engagement with Communities in the COVID-19 Context; Implementation of the Global Refugee Forum Pledges; Socio-Economic Inclusion of Refugees; Climate Action for more information please visit the website: https://www.unhcr.org/afr/2021-regional-ngo-consultations-ehagl.html

In its new Global Economic Prospects report, WB forecasts the global economy to expand by 5.6% in 2021, driven largely by a few big economies. Amid very uneven vaccine access and pandemic recovery, low-income countries will only have a 2.9% GDP growth rate in 2021, and output levels in 2022 predicted to be 4.9% lower than pre-pandemic projections. In conflict-affected low-income countries, the pandemic exacerbated underlying challenges so that growth is expected to average 2.5% in 2021-22, about 0.7% point below previous forecast due to a degraded security situation and increased debt burdens. In 75% of them, per capita income losses incurred in 2020 will still not be caught up by 2022. In Sub-Sahara Africa, growth is expected to reach only 2.8% in 2021 and 3.3% in 2022 based on accelerated vaccination, exports of agricultural commodity and a positive global economic context. In fragile and conflict-affected countries the average per capita GDP level in 2022 will be 5.3% below its 2019 level. Furthermore, the pandemic has exacerbated the risk of food insecurity, with food prices rising by more than 20% in some countries. Natural disasters and a wetter weather are expected to compound this risk and might engender conflicts that would further plunge millions in food distress. The humanitarian and economic toll of conflict, and political violence in the Sahel are expected to dampen economic prospects, with the most vulnerable most affected. The pandemic has exacerbated fiscal difficulties, with the debt-to-GDP rising by 8% points to 70% of GDP in 2020 and putting many countries in the region at risk of debt distress. Uncertainty due to the pandemic has resulted in a decrease of capital inflows.

As COVID-19 lingers in Iran, UNHCR is grateful for the timely donation of 1,000,000 face masks by the Republic of Korea, which will help protect health personnel and patients at hospitals and health facilities in refugee-hosting areas. The Republic of Korea is one of the biggest donors to UNHCR in support of Afghan refugees. From 2018 to 2020, the Republic of Korea generously donated 6 million USD to UNHCR towards “Protection and Humanitarian Assistance for Afghan Refugees in Iran”. UNHCR is grateful to the Republic of Korea for tangibly showing increased international responsibility- and burden-sharing, by supporting Iran which has hosted Afghan refugees for over 40.

UNHCR welcomes the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s recent move to formalize access to banking services – including debit cards, for Afghan refugees in the country. Now, all refugees will have a more secure means of managing their finances. Banking services will also facilitate emergency cash assistance to refugees in Iran. Since the start of COVID-19, UNHCR has helped vulnerable refugees cope with the economic impact of the pandemic by providing them with cash assistance via electronic vouchers. Financial inclusion can contribute to refugees’ resilience, empowering them to meet their needs in a safe, sustainable and dignified manner, and helping them avoid negative coping mechanisms.

NRC East Africa & Yemen recently commissioned a consultancy, undertaken by IPE Africa, to help elaborate and solidify NRC’s position and thinking with regards to economic inclusion (EI) and urban programming in the region. This included two case studies – one on urban programming in Uganda and the other collating good practice in EI from countries in this region. This fed into an ongoing global learning exercise on economic inclusion, which aims to better position and equip NRC and its partners to promote economic inclusion of people affected by displacement. To maintain our discussions on Economic Inclusion, the NRC regional office has identified activities to implement at regional and country level that align with the aforementioned global EI learning project which is currently piloting approaches and tools in 3 countries globally (Kenya being one). For more information please contact Lili Mohiddin lili.mohiddin@nrc.no

UNHCR continues to assist thousands of people affected by the eruption of the Mount Nyiragongo volcano near the city of Goma, North Kivu Province.

Since 28 May, UNHCR has been assisting displaced populations by providing communal shelters to decongest schools and churches, and core relief items including, tarpaulins, blankets, and hygiene kits.

The Poverty Alleviation Coalition (PAC) are doing a fresh round of data collection through the Landscape Survey of Economic Inclusion programs to update PEI’s Data Portal (https://www.peiglobal.org/pei-data-portal?deliveryName=DM105177). PEI will be capturing data from active programs till the end of July and would welcome your support. Task teams, policy makers and practitioners can use the data portal to gain insights into what other economic inclusion programs are doing in different settings and for different target groups.

Uganda launches the “Jobs and Livelihoods Integrated Refugee Plan” (JLIRP) In line with the spirit of the GCR, the government of Uganda has launched in May 2021, the multi partner “Jobs and Livelihoods Integrated Refugee Plan” (JLIRP). The plan envisions self-reliant and resilient refugee and host community households in refugee hosting districts by 2025. The JLIRP will contribute to resilient, sustainable and inclusive development of refugees and host communities through the improvement of social cohesion; increasing economic opportunities by strengthening market systems; increasing household income, food and nutrition security and agricultural output for in-country and export markets; increasing productive coping strategies; increasing access to vocational and technical education; and improving social protection key to socio-economic inclusion of refugees and host communities in refugee hosting districts. The full plan can be downloaded here: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/86601

Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award Grants Over $24 Million to Create Long-Term Transformational Change for Refugees: The Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative is selected as the $10M award recipient by sponsors Chris Larsen and Lyna Lam, while DREAMS for Refugees is selected as the $2M award recipient by the Sea Grape Foundation. The DREAMS program, led by Village Enterprise in partnership with Mercy Corps and IDinsight, supports refugees in East Africa to escape poverty and use their skills to start businesses.