Guided by its livelihood strategy, UNHCR provided livelihood support to 4,700 refugees and host community members, and successfully assisted an almost equal number of men and women through a range of activities.
In partnership with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, UNHCR provided sustainable livelihood opportunities to more than 2,500 refugee households. These households were provided with capacity-building and asset management skills training sessions. They were also given productive assets, which helped them to improve their livelihoods, and refugee women by their having access to and ownership of the assets.
UNHCR, in partnership with a local social enterprise called Artisan Links, trained 800 Afghan women in Tarshumar embroidery skills, financial management and COVID–19 prevention. The artisans were engaged to produce embroidery pieces for a French fashion house Chloé which placed an order for more than 6,000 embroidery pieces. The refugee artisans, who learnt the skills required and applied it in production of the pieces, which boosted their income generation capacity.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 492 refugees were supported through skills development and strengthened their small home-based businesses through in-kind support. Training opportunities provided by UNHCR in 2021 included three months of certified training in various marketable skills for 164 refugees, while 80 refugee families running small businesses were supported with training on enterprise development skills and the provision of tool kits and equipment, which contributed to family incomes. Another 180 refugees participated in short training sessions on food processing, baking and confectionery, and soap and disinfectant making. In addition, 72 female refugees were trained in stitching and embroidery skills at community centres in Dir, Kohat and Peshawar districts. Refugees also gained two-month apprenticeship training in local industry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Upon successful completion of the training, every individual received a certificate. Through the Recognition of Prior Learning approach, skilled young people who were already working in the local job market were supported to get certification from trade testing boards, which enables workers to have their skills recognized and subsequently access better job opportunities and further education.
In Balochistan, to maximize the livelihood and income generation opportunities for refugees situated in refugee villages and urban areas, UNHCR supported some 900 refugees, nearly half of whom were women (48%), in certified vocational skills such as art and crafts, hand and machine embroidery, and leather stitching. Another 170 refugee men gained certified vocational skills in homestead gardening while 170 refugee women from seven refugee villages in Balochistan were supported through livestock and backyard poultry interventions, as well as start-up tool kits.
With partners, UNHCR provided support to artisans through training support and linked them with craft markets to maximize their livelihood opportunities in Quetta. To support refugees through private sector engagement, UNHCR and Quetta Serena Hotel signed a letter of understanding and cooperation to collaborate on helping refugees and the local host communities in the area access skills training and internship opportunities in hospitality. This opportunity would help them develop and expand their livelihoods options and achieve a higher degree of self-reliance.