UNHCR ambulances expedite emergency relief activities

The ambulances donated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to three provinces have expedited the process of emergency relief activities, especially Covid-19 related to Afghan refugees.

The UN refugee agency had provided around 10 ambulances a few months ago to disaster managements of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to cater to the needs of Afghan refugees in emergency situation, an official in the UNHCR told APP on Wednesday.

He said medical equipment and sanitation products were also being distributed in the basic health care units in rural areas to provide health care facilities to refugees and their host communities.

Responding to a query, he said 28 large housing units were also provided to the administrations of Balochistan, K-P and Punjab in order to meet the housing needs of the refugees. All the departments concerned were directed to include both refugees and internally displaced people in relief and response measures, he added.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan is hosting more than 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees holding proof of registration cards. Since 2002, around 4.4 million Afghan refugees have returned to their home country under the UNHCR-facilitated voluntary repatriation operation.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2020.