Afghan refugees in Pakistan to get cash assistance

UNHCR, Pakistan Post sign agreement

The Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) along with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in collaboration with the Pakistan Post Office Department, has announced cash assistance for Afghan refugee families impacted by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in Pakistan.

The grant is similar to the federal government’s Ehsaas emergency cash programme, where vulnerable families receive Rs12,000 to cover a four-month period. The emergency assistance will help eligible refugee families to meet their urgent needs during the pandemic.

In this regard, the UNHCR Deputy Representative Iain Hall and Pakistan Post Chairman Akhlaque Rana signed an agreement for the disbursement of cash grants on Tuesday.

SAFRON Minister Sahabzada Sultan, Secretary Aslam Kamboh and Afghan Refugees Chief Commissioner Saleem Khan fully supported this initiative.

Over the past weeks, UNHCR and the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees, with the collaboration of partners, volunteers and refugee community leaders, carried out vulnerability assessments to identify the neediest refugee families. Those eligible for emergency assistance include refugees with disabilities or serious medical conditions, as well as single parents.

Hall said that many thousands of vulnerable refugees lost their only source of income in the current coronavirus outbreak.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2020.