Pakistan: Quetta: The UNHCR Representative undertook her first visit to Balochistan in September. During her visit, she inaugurated the skills development project for refugee and local women in Quetta. She also inaugurated the state-of-the-art laboratory at the Children Hospital. The Representative interacted with male and female refugee outreach volunteers and refugee elders from different refugee villages in Balochistan. She met with the Governor of Balochistan, Justice retired Amanullah Khan Yasinzai and discussed issues related to Afghan refugees in Balochistan.

Pakistan: Islamabad: In the months of November and December, UNHCR with the support of other UN agencies and partners arranged activities to mark the 16 Days of Activism campaign.

Pakistan: Karachi: UNHCR handed over blankets, sleeping mates, jerrycans, and plastic sheets to the National Disaster Management Authority for onward distribution to Pakistani communities who were affected by floods and rainfall in Karachi and other parts of the Sindh province. UNHCR also supported Afghan refugees in Karachi.

Following general election in the Central African Republic, over 12,000 people fled into the provinces of Bas Uele and North Ubangi.

UNHCR finalized the construction of almost 1,500 emergency shelters in Ituri Province.

Over 5,300 refugees from the Central African Republic were biometrically registered in Bas Uele Province.

UNHCR distributed core relief items to over 4,500 displaced households in North Kivu Province.

In 2021, UNHCR will work to maintain the same levels of responsiveness, adaptability and flexibility in response to COVID-19, whilst strengthening resilience as staff and people of concern adjust to living and working with COVID-19 in the medium term. UNHCR published a supplementary appeal to respond to these needs.

In a recently published study, the World Bank and UNHCR estimate that 4.4 million people in host communities and 1.1 million refugees or internally displaced persons in Lebanon, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and three governorates in Jordan have been newly pushed into poverty by the pandemic.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are deeply distressed by the death or disappearance at sea of up to 25 refugees and migrants from Venezuela, including children, after their boat capsized en route to Trinidad and Tobago. According to reports, between 14 and 21 bodies were found over the weekend floating in waters near the Venezuelan coastal town of Guiria. Search and rescue efforts continue as there may be others still missing at sea.