As of 31 May 2018, a total of 6,621 Congolese refugees (2,205 households) have been relocated to Mantapala Refugee Settlement from Kenani Transit Centre. Government, with support from UNHCR and IOM, expects the relocation exercise of the remaining 8,722 individuals to be completed by end of July 2018. The Government, through COR, has been leading the relocation exercises since they began earlier this year. The poor state of the road between Nchelenge and Mantapala Refugee Settlement continues to be of concern to all stakeholders.

 By late 2017, more than 685,000 Congolese refugees sought international protection in neighbouring countries, including Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Rwanda, the Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, as well as in countries in Southern Africa and beyond. In 2018, the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) deteriorated, spreading to previously unaffected areas. Since August 30, 2017, Zambia received refugees fleeing conflict in Pweto and Moba areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who were first settled temporarily in Chiengi district.  By September 2017 the number of arrivals had exceeded 1,000 and Kenani transit centre in Nchelenge district was opened, to which all refugees were relocated. As the number of refugees increased to over 6,000, Kenani could no longer accommodate new arrivals.  Mantapala, approximately 36 km southeast of Nchelenge and spanning - 8,000 hectares, was opened in early 2018. All refugees residing at Kenani, were then relocated to the new settlement. Ever since the 2018 elections in DRC, arrivals have reduced to a steady trickle of refugees seeking international protection or family reunification.  During the emergency refugee operation, the Government of Zambia, through the Office of the Commissioner for Refugees in the Ministry of Home Affairs, collaborated closely with UNHCR, UN agencies and other partners. It coordinated and led the emergency response to address the most urgent protection needs of refugees such as food, shelter, water and sanitation, core relief items, and health services, and provided livelihood support and basic education for refugees to promote peaceful co-existence with local community and contribute to local economic development.  Today, the collaboration of Government with UNHCR, UN agencies and other partners is aimed at providing sustainable solutions for refugees and the host community, inculcating a sense of self-reliance and ownership in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Seventh National Development Plan (SNDP).  Considerable gains have been made regarding the construction of permanent infrastructure, the next focus will be to enhance the multi-stakeholder approach to equip structures such as health and education facilities to improve human potential and to support the inclusion of refugees in national systems in line with the Global Compact on Refugees of which the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) is apart.

In July 2021, A total of 38 beneficiaries (8 Zambians, 23 refugees and 7 former refugees) in Meheba refugee settlement received training in Systems of Rice Intensification.

767 (448 newly arrived asylum-seekers, 136 in-situ and 183 births were registered in July 2021).

Some 257 women and youth owned businesses from Lusaka, Meheba, Mayukwayukwa and Mantapala refugee settlements were supported with business grants to help them recover their small-scale businesses. A total of 5,440 people of concern (PoCs) in the three refugee settlements have undertaken COVID-19 tests since the pandemic began in March 2020. At the end of October 2021, UNHCR submitted 169 cases comprising 643 refugees for resettlement consideration. Most of the resettlement departures were to Nordic countries.

The registration of refugee families who wish to voluntarily repatriate continued in Mantapala settlement, with the cumulative number of individuals now registered for voluntary return standing at 11,031 comprising 2,698 families. The Resettlement Team in Zambia continued to submit cases to meet the 200 individual quota allocated by Finland with a possibility of over submission by a margin of 40 individuals to attain a total of 240. individuals. In coordination with partners, WFP distributed cash for monthly food assistance to 17,546 refugees (8,936 females and 8,610 males) in Mantapala settlement 297 new asylum-seekers arrived in Zambia in May mainly from the DRC. 47,911 Individuals were reached with messages on communicable diseases such as Covid-19 under Risk Communication. 14,376 Individuals received out-patient department (OPD) consultation services in May in the three refugee settlements and urban areas.

The registration of refugee families who wish to voluntarily repatriate continued in Mantapala settlement, with the cumulative number of individuals now registered for voluntary return standing at 11,031 comprising 2,698 families. The Resettlement Team in Zambia continued to submit cases to meet the 200 individual quota allocated by Finland with a possibility of over submission by a margin of 40 individuals to attain a total of 240. individuals. In coordination with partners, WFP distributed cash for monthly food assistance to 17,546 refugees (8,936 females and 8,610 males) in Mantapala settlement 297 new asylum-seekers arrived in Zambia in May mainly from the DRC. 47,911 Individuals were reached with messages on communicable diseases such as Covid-19 under Risk Communication. 14,376 Individuals received out-patient department (OPD) consultation services in May in the three refugee settlements and urban areas.

Some 9,189 additional refugees were registered in Zambia (2,777 asylum-seekers, 2,060 births and 4,352 in-situ) between 1 January and 31 August 2022. Some 75 per cent are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 1,087 refugee files were submitted to resettlement countries from 1 January to 31 August 2022. 756 refugees were resettlement to USA, Sweden and Finland. A total of 17,800 learners enrolled in early childhood education, primary and secondary schools in Zambia’s three refugee settlements. Over 250 refugee students are enrolled in different universities in Zambia.