UNHCR protection and community-based protection (CBP) teams worked to ensure greater outreach to communities, but cultural challenges persist in the area of gender-based violence prevention, risk mitigation and response and community coping mechanisms. Unmet needs therefore remain in the identification of behavioural change programmes that take a medium-long term approach. In addition to this, unmet needs also remained in terms of community-led initiatives and data. Greater investments will be needed in 2021 and 2022 to help further develop evidence-based programming.
Furthermore, in most refugee villages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa needs relating to general waste management and disposal, including solid waste and sewerage, remained unmet. The construction of garbage collection points and the provision of waste bins could not be achieved due to the funding gap. Due to limited funds, only the most vulnerable refugees were assisted as part of UNHCR’s cash assistance programme. Small-scale activities for the protection of vulnerable groups were needed as well as expansion of the cash intervention, but those requirements remained uncovered by the limited budget.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Government authorities in Balochistan requested UNHCR to provide fabricated rooms with washrooms, portable ventilators and patient monitors, as well as ambulances. However, due to limited funding, UNHCR could only address the most pressing emergency transportation needs through the provision of five ambulances in the province.
The Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) programme – a cornerstone for of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) and a critical tool for enabling peaceful coexistence, inclusion and resilience-building through assistance in refugee hosting areas – has been severely underfunded, leading to slowing of identification of potential projects and decline in donor interest.
For more efficient implementation of management and implementation of RAHA projects, UNHCR is focusing on direct implementation, which will also help ensure better quality of the goods and services provided. While refugee children have unhindered access to the public education system at the primary and secondary levels, major investments have been deemed essential to ensure that refugee children can attend overstrained public schools; large numbers were still out of school in 2020.
UNHCR’s Livelihoods Strategy has laid the groundwork for building the self-reliance of young Afghans refugees. They comprise around 70 % of the refugee population. In 2020, To create opportunities and enhance inclusion in national programmes, UNHCR continued to strengthen collaboration with relevant sector leaders in the country, notably the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund and the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission. These partnerships helped foster opportunities for young Afghan refugees and enhance the inclusion of refugees in national programmes. However, very few refugees have been able to benefit from livelihoods programming, and they depended on UNHCR to cover tuition costs. In 2020, more than 5,000 young refugees developed their technical and vocational skills as part of UNHCR-supported training. As many as 2,124 host community members also participated in these training. Advocacy is needed to ensure that greater numbers of young refugees are able to access and pursue higher education. Exploring support modalities with development actors and private sector will also be crucial. in achieving this goal. Further engagement with private sector partners was also considered necessary in the sectors of education and livelihoods. Unmet needs also remained in terms of community-led initiatives and data. A verification exercise of the Afghan refugee population in 2021 will enhance available data, particularly on the professional skills of refugees. Greater investments will be needed in 2021 and 2022 to help further develop evidence-based programming.