UNHCR has stepped up its efforts in Brazil to protect tens of thousands of refugees and migrants from Venezuela and their host communities, as the Latin American country has become the second worst affected country in the world.

A tripartite agreement between the African Development Bank (AfDB), UNHCR and the G5 Sahel was signed on 23 July that provides a critical USD 20 million in funding to COVID-19 response across the five countries of the Sahel region to support COVID-19 awareness campaigns, strengthen health infrastructure, epidemiological surveillance and case management. It will also allow procurement of essential medical supplies and equipment for the prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19 patients.

FCA, GIZ, ILO and UNHCR are launching a new TVET study – calling for applicants! https://reliefweb.int/job/3652498/inclusion-refugees-tvet-programmes-and-their-transition-world-work-joint-study

COVID-19 AND DROP IN GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN AID MAKE PERFECT STORM FOR WORLD’S MOST VULNERABLE: The Covid-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented challenge to the humanitarian system in both scale and complexity, new research shows. Development Initiatives’ 2020 Global Humanitarian Assistance report reveals that in 2019 over one billion people were living in countries affected by long-term humanitarian crises such as conflict, displacement and natural disasters. In the same period international UN appeals hit a record high but international humanitarian funding dropped by $1.6 billion. Covid-19 is compounding these existing humanitarian challenges: 34 of the 63 countries that require humanitarian assistance to deal with the pandemic are in long-term humanitarian crisis. Despite these growing humanitarian needs, the harsh reality is that with the global economy under significant strain and donor governments facing increasing domestic costs, global aid is projected to decline further and faster.

Refugees are actively contributing to the COVID-19 response by sewing masks and gowns for health workers and helping to distribute aid to the poorest members of their communities. Dr. Fezzeh Hosseini, a 38-year-old Afghan refugee, was recently appointed to head up the coronavirus public outreach programme in Iran’s central Esfahan province. She is the only refugee doctor in Esfahan and provides phone consultations to Iranian and Afghan patients suffering from or at risk of contracting the coronavirus. She is also the head physician of the Razi health centre in Khomeini-Shahr, an area of Esfahan.

EU announces €24 million in Uganda amid coronavirus pandemic. EU humanitarian support in Uganda goes hand in hand with longer-term development strategies to find durable solutions and support the self-reliance of refugees and their inclusion in social protection schemes. https://ec.europa.eu/echo/news/eu-announces-24-million-uganda-amid-coronavirus-pandemic_en

In a press release, UNHCR are WFP warn that severe underfunding, conflict and disasters – as well as supply chain challenges, rising food prices and loss of income due to COVID19 - threaten to leave millions of refugees across Africa without food.

WB in cooperation with UNHCR concluded the first round of surveys Monitoring COVID-19 Impact on Households (refugee and host community) and Firms in Kenya. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/kenya/brief/monitoring-covid-19-impact-on-households-and-firms-in-kenya

A policy note on “Economic Inclusion for the Poorest and COVID-19: Adaptation and Early Priorities for Medium- and Longer-Term Recovery” has been released by PEI, available here. https://www.jobsanddevelopment.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/economic-inclusion-for-the-poorest-and-COVID-19.pdf

In celebration of World Refugee Day 2020, UNHCR’s global brand of artisanal products crafted by refugees, MADE51, launched their online shop https://shop.made51.org/ . The shop includes numerous refugee artists from East Africa.