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.

Rozma Ghafouri, 29, an Afghan refugee living in Iran, won the 2020 Nansen Refugee Award for the Asia region, for her commendable work helping children at risk in Shiraz, Iran. As a football coach and a youth counsellor, she draws on her own at-times harsh childhood to get young refugees and undocumented Afghans aged between 11 and 15 – out of work and back into school.

UNHCR has stepped up its cash assistance to support thousands of extremely vulnerable refugees whose livelihoods have been severely impacted by the continuing coronavirus pandemic in Iran. Iran’s economy has already been under substantial strain during the past two years, but COVID-19 has very severely worsened economic conditions. UNHCR has supported more than 20,000 refugees since the beginning of the pandemic. Some 9,000 among those have recently benefitted from a cash assistance scheme through pre-paid cards. These refugees are suffering from serious health conditions and are in need of urgent support. Each household receives some US$300 (a one-off payment) – enough to cover up to three months of basic expenditures.

UNHCR welcomes the Government of Iran’s move to give nationality to thousands of children born to Iranian mothers and non-Iranian fathers. According to the Government, nearly 75,000 children are eligible for Iranian citizenship under a new nationality law, which was amended in 2019 to allow children under 18 years to apply for the identity documents. By allowing Iranian mothers to pass their nationality to their children, the law also marks a ground-breaking step towards reducing the gender gap in Iran. Although Iran is not party to the UN Conventions on Statelessness, the Government is taking steps towards the prevention and reduction of statelessness in the country.

Roya, 20, an Afghan refugee, works in a tailoring workshop in Sarvestan refugee settlement, in Iran’s southern Fars province, along with around 50 other refugee women. The workshop was established by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and later expanded by the World Food Programme (WFP). It switched its production line at the start of the pandemic to make hygiene masks, in an example of refugees’ direct involvement in the fight against COVID-19, but also of their effort to safeguard their monthly income. Since February 2020, when the first COVID-19 cases were officially recorded in Iran, Roya and her fellow refugee tailors have produced more than 10,000 masks per day, which are delivered to health and humanitarian service providers across the country.

UNHCR welcomes the generous contribution of USD 1,250,000 from the Government of Japan, which will be crucial in enabling UNHCR to enhance its support of refugees over the course of 2021. In addition to supporting access to primary healthcare and education, this funding will go towards the implementation of livelihoods activities, such as the provision of technical and vocational training and support to small businesses and workshops for refugees in Iran. In turn, refugees can then positively contribute to the Iranian host community during their stay, and further utilize their new skills in their country of origin, once conditions become conductive for their safe and dignified voluntary return. Japan is one of the biggest donors to UNHCR in support of Afghan refugees.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect refugees and host communities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is ensuring that another 20,000 refugees can access national health insurance, taking the numbers assisted with health insurance to 120,000. UNHCR covered the costs of insurance for some 100,000 vulnerable refugees last year. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the prevailing economic downturn in Iran increasing vulnerabilities amongst refugees, UNHCR has agreed to temporarily increase the number of refugees covered by the scheme. UNHCR is concerned that fewer and fewer refugees will be able to afford the cost of health insurance in 2021 and beyond, increasing the likelihood that they will not seek treatment for their urgent health needs or that they will resort to borrowing money or sending their children to work, just to be able to afford health care.

UNHCR welcomes the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s recent move to formalize access to banking services – including debit cards, for Afghan refugees in the country. Now, all refugees will have a more secure means of managing their finances. Banking services will also facilitate emergency cash assistance to refugees in Iran. Since the start of COVID-19, UNHCR has helped vulnerable refugees cope with the economic impact of the pandemic by providing them with cash assistance via electronic vouchers. Financial inclusion can contribute to refugees’ resilience, empowering them to meet their needs in a safe, sustainable and dignified manner, and helping them avoid negative coping mechanisms.

As COVID-19 lingers in Iran, UNHCR is grateful for the timely donation of 1,000,000 face masks by the Republic of Korea, which will help protect health personnel and patients at hospitals and health facilities in refugee-hosting areas. The Republic of Korea is one of the biggest donors to UNHCR in support of Afghan refugees. From 2018 to 2020, the Republic of Korea generously donated 6 million USD to UNHCR towards “Protection and Humanitarian Assistance for Afghan Refugees in Iran”. UNHCR is grateful to the Republic of Korea for tangibly showing increased international responsibility- and burden-sharing, by supporting Iran which has hosted Afghan refugees for over 40.

On 30 June, UNHCR Iran in coordination with BAFIA held a virtual event to commemorate World Refugee Day 2021. Despite some coordination challenges with our counterparts, the event was well attended by some 130 participants including UN and I/NGO partners, diplomatic missions, governmental partners (e.g. MOH and MOE) and a number of refugees. In their remarks, representatives from UNHCR, BAFIA, government miniseries and INGO/NGOs reiterated their support for refugees in Iran, while acknowledging the ongoing and upcoming challenges both in Iran and Afghanistan.