UNHCR-NGO Toolkit for Practical Cooperation on Resettlement. Operational activities - Staff and cost-sharing and funding arrangements: Field Examples

a) Mapendo - UNHCR resettlement support project

Mapendo International's resettlement support program began with an initial assignment of one privately-funded staff member to UNHCR's resettlement unit in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya in 2007. Since that time, Mapendo and UNHCR solidified the nature of the working relationship in a sub-project agreement at the Geneva level and expanded their cooperation to include additional resettlement staff assignments in multiple countries around Africa.

The resettlement support program serves to:

• Increase access to resettlement as a durable solution for refugees in need;
• Increase resettlement capacity, efficiency and quality of referrals in situations of identified need;
• Draw on Mapendo International's strengths in resettlement processing, including building partner capacity for identification of particularly vulnerable groups and individuals in need of durable solutions;
• Strengthen UNHCR and NGO collaboration, raise awareness of NGO roles in resettlement and other durable solutions responses.

As a result of this arrangement, Mapendo staff members assigned to UNHCR resettlement operations have submitted thousands of refugees for resettlement, helping to increase the overall referral rate from Africa.