UNHCR provided livelihood support to refugees and host communities in 2020, even in the unique challenging environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Male (70%) and female (30%) refugees were assisted by a variety of suitable interventions which helped them to earn an income and live a dignified life.
Jointly with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), UNHCR trained 1,502 refugees and provided them with productive livelihood assets under the poverty graduation programme. The eighteen-month project started in January 2020 and will continue to the end of December 2021, assisting 2,500 refugee households in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Against the total figures of 2,270 heads of households reported in the mid-year report, only 43 trainees dropped out of the programme.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 205 refugees were trained in various vocational skills through UNHCR partners and were provided with certificates and tool kits. Even though institutions were closed due to COVID-19, UNHCR was able to adjust its plans and ensure that a maximum number of Afghan refugee benefited from the programme. A six-month diploma course in professional cooking was revised to short trainings focusing on personal protective equipment (PPE) making within a community setting. 60 refugee youth were trained (30 female and 30 male) in making PPE, hand sanitizer and face masks. Upon completion, 7 Afghan youth out of 60 graduates started either their small business or were employed. Employment remained a significant challenge amidst COVID-19.
Various skill training courses were provided to 145 refugees through partners HASHOO Foundation and Sarhad Rural Support Program which included motorbike/mobile repair, home textile, beautician and honeybee farming. 40 home-based businesses were supported with tool kits to enhance their small businesses. 51 skilled refugees who were badly hit economically due to lockdowns in the COVID-19 pandemic were engaged to make PPE. This PPE was handed over to the Provincial Government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for further distribution among health care staff. Among the 30 trained refugees in motorbike/mobile repair, 20 trainees started working with local workshops. Similarly, 14 women out of the 20 trained started to earn within the community and the local market. 10 females trained in beautician skills engaged in income generation activities utilizing their skills within their communities.
In Balochistan 425 beneficiaries in Refugee Villages and in Quetta urban areas were provided with certified marketable skills. 325 persons of concern to UNHCR were provided with support in homestead gardening and backyard poultry interventions. All beneficiaries of respective trades received the business start-up tool kits that helped them to improve their employability and income-generating capacity.
UNHCR engaged a private sector partner namely SHAPAR/FNKAsia in 2020 to train 50 refugee artisans and provide them with income generating opportunities. The company trained 50 refugee females in fashion, jewellery making and face mask making skills in Karachi. Upon completion of the training, the refugees are regularly receiving orders from private companies and manage to earn a decent wage in return.
Through the MADE51 project, UNHCR assisted 150 refugee artisan women in Quetta, Karachi, Islamabad, and Peshawar by providing them access to wider markets and the opportunity to capitalize on their artisanal skills. These refugee artisans were linked with five Local Social Enterprises (private business entities) in Pakistan, which enabled them to have access to better manufacturing and input supplies. The selected business entities helped them to produce high quality products and supported them in marketing and access to national and international markets, which helped 150 refugee women in income generating activities by manufacturing crafts and becoming part of commercial supply chains of private sector businesses.