CLOSURE OF JODA BORDER ENTRY POINT IN WHITE NILE – The Joda entry point has been closed since 28 March, with reasons for the closure still unclear. This has halted the crossing of South Sudanese people from the northern Upper Nile region in South Sudan. Reports indicate that “many” people are stranded on the other side intending to cross into Sudan. UNHCR is preparing a contingency plan for Joda to manage a higher arrival figure if/when Joda re-opens. Two other border entry points at El Megenis and Kuek remain open and continue to receive new arrivals.

On 28 March 2018 the second Tripartite Commission Meeting was held in Bujumbura, Burundi. UNHCR continues assisting returns of Burundian refugees from Tanzania who are voluntarily choosing to go to their areas of origin.

UNHCR and the Government of Bangladesh in Geneva finalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) relating to voluntary returns of Rohingya refugees once conditions in Myanmar are conducive.

In March, the Basic Needs Working Group provided around 3,757,926 US$ worth of regular cash, winterization assistances and non-food item (NFIs) to vulnerable beneficiaries from the refugee and host Community.

In February, the Jordanian Government increased taxes and removed subsidies on basic commodities such as bread. To ensure beneficiaries maintain the same level of purchasing power to meet their basic food needs, WFP will increase the assistance to Syrian refugees living in host communities as of April 2018. For extremely vulnerable cases, the increase will be from 20 JD to 23 JD, while for vulnerable cases the current assistance of 10 JD will be increased to 15 JD. The relatively higher increase for vulnerable cases is due to the outcomes of WFP food security monitoring exercise, which has shown a trend since 2016 for the group of vulnerable cases to be most food insecure, as compared to extremely vulnerable and non-assisted cases.

WASH: In March, WASH services were provided to 119,156 Syrian refugees, including 67,460 children, living in Azraq, Zaatari, and King Abdulla camps and host communities.

Despite a drop in the number of refugees and migrants reaching Europe last year, the dangers many face along the way have in some cases increased, according to Desperate Journeys report by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, setting out changing patterns of movement.

On April 6th, the Colombian Government began a mass registration of Venezuelans in Colombia which will last for 2 months. UNHCR is providing support by training local officials, technical support, equipment, human resources and mass communications.

On April 6th, the Colombian Government began a mass registration of undocumented Venezuelans in Colombia. UNHCR and IOM are jointly supporting the process, providing training to local officials, technical support, equipment, human resources and mass communications.

UNHCR provides high-tech medical equipment worth Rs.710 million to Peshawar hospital