Over 50,000 Afghan refugee families hit by COVID-19 get UNHCR emergency cash

ISLAMABAD: The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, has provided emergency cash assistance to over 50,000 vulnerable Afghan refugee families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan, the UNHCR said on Tuesday.
The UNHCR emergency cash program follows the government of Pakistan’s Ehsaas program under which vulnerable Pakistani families receive a one-off cash grant of Rs.12,000 (approximately $77) to shore them against the coronavirus related economic downturn.
The UN agency aims to reach 70,000 of the most vulnerable refugee families.
On Tuesday, UNHCR’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Indrika Ratwatte – who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan – participated in the distribution of cash assistance to refugees at a Post Office in Islamabad.
“He also interacted with Afghan refugee elders. The UNHCR Representative in Pakistan, Ms. Noriko Yoshida, and senior officials from the Post Office were also present on the occasion,” UNHCR said in a statement.
Ratwatte appreciated the achievement of the goal of reaching 50,000 families: “I hope that efforts will continue to be made to reach the remaining vulnerable families affected by the pandemic,” he said.
Pakistan hosts over 1.4 million Afghan refugees, and during the pandemic “thousands of refugees, including daily wage earners, were left without a source of income,” the UN agency said.
Ratwatte said the assistance would help those hardest hit by the economic downturn. “Emergency cash assistance enables refugees to meet their most urgent needs.”
UNHCR’s assistance program is being carried out in close collaboration with the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions and Pakistan Post, which disburses the payments.

Over 50,000 Afghan refugee families hit by COVID-19 get UNHCR emergency cash