UNHCR has released the report “Coming Together for Refugee Education” which notes that half of all refugee children are out of school and calls for immediate and bold action by the international community to beat back the catastrophic effects of the coronavirus.

The humanitarian needs continue to deepen in eastern DRC as families are forcibly displaced following violence and repeated attacks.

Risk communication and awareness-raising on COVID-19 continues across the DRC. So far, UNHCR reached over 1.5 million people among internally displaced persons, refugees and host communities, including more than 37,000 people over the past two weeks.

As of 30 August, UNHCR had installed almost 3,400 handwashing stations across DRC and over 260,000 persons received soap.

As of 30 August, UNHCR had installed almost 3,400 handwashing stations across DRC and over 260,000 persons received soap.

In Ituri Province, UNHCR distributed almost 14,000 reusable masks to people staying in the Kigonze and ISP sites for IDPs in Bunia, Ituri Province. The masks were fabricated by South Sudanese refugees in Haut-Uele Province and by urban refugees in Goma, North Kivu Province.

In a press release, UNHCR alerted that more than three quarters of Nicaraguan refugees and asylum-seekers in Costa Rica are going hungry, eating only once or twice a day as a result of the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pakistan: Peshawar: In mid-August 2020, UNHCR and its partner, Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP), handed over coveralls – produced by Afghan refugees – to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Peshawar. This initiative responded to the call to create livelihood opportunities to refugees. Skilled Afghan refugee tailors stitched the coveralls and non-medical face masks, and were able to earn from each item stitched.

Pakistan: Islamabad: The UNHCR Representative in undertook her first field mission to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in early August 2020. During her visit, she inaugurated a multipurpose model community centre in Khazana refugee village near Peshawar. The community centre will be used for learning and community-building, benefitting Afghan refugees and Pakistani host communities. Together with the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Establishment, the UNHCR Representative also performed a ceremonial “breaking of the ground” to mark the start of the rehabilitation of a government primary school in Peshawar, as part of the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) initiative.

Pakistan: Islamabad: Following the launch of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) Support Platform at the Global Refugee Forum in December 2019, and the subsequent Refugee Summit Islamabad held in Islamabad in February 2020, the High-Level Meeting on the SSAR Support Platform was organized on 6 July 2020. The virtual event was convened by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, together with high-level representatives from the Islamic Republics of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.