In recent years the number and diversity of humanitarian and development organizations working in refugee contexts has expanded.
To ensure assistance is coordinated in a coherent and complementary way amongst these actors, UNHCR leads the development of Refugee Response Plans (RRPs).
These plans support host governments to protect refugees in large and complex refugee situations through international solidarity.
The refugee response plans serve as the base from which to implement a strategy and activities as well as advocate for refugee situations in close collaboration with host governments and other partners. In short, a refugee response plan:
- provides a platform and tools to properly plan and coordinate an inter-agency response;
- raises the profile of refugee assistance;
- raises funds for partners;
- provides an overarching vision and coherent engagement in refugee responses in alignment with host government strategies.
Refugee response plans can be adapted for varying contexts and for specific needs. For example, they can be adapted to address mixed refugee-migrant situations or place special emphasis on resilience. When this is the case, they usually share co-leadership with another UN agency, such as the International Organization of Migration (IOM) or the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The plans can also be developed for different levels of coordination, regional or country.
Refugee Response Plan Afghanistan: UNHCR and humanitarian partners launched their 2023 response plan to support 7.9 million people: 5.2 million Afghans – including refugees – and 2.7million of their local hosts in five neighbouring countries: Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The situation inside Afghanistan remains complex. There has been an improvement in overall security since August 2021 and a marked reduction in civilian casualties, enabling humanitarian access to all provinces, including areas which had been inaccessible for decades. However, the humanitarian, economic, and human rights situation continues to deteriorate significantly, particularly for women and girls.
The recent restrictions on women and girls’ participation in society in Afghanistan impact access to secondary and tertiary education, freedom of movement, and ability to work for non-governmental organizations, among other facets of life, and increase the risk of genderbased violence. Widespread food insecurity, soaring inflation and high economic instability, exacerbated by sanctions, limited livelihoods, and more frequent and severe climate shocks have left vulnerable populations in an increasingly precarious situation.
For 2023, it is expected that Afghan populations, including new arrivals, will remain in need of significant support. As well as responding to the basic needs of the most vulnerable populations, investments in infrastructure including health, education, and water and energy networks require major attention. RRP partners seek to take an area-based approach, anchoring the response in national systems which will support host governments to continue to include Afghans in national systems, while also supporting the refugee-hosting communities who use these systems. Opportunities for durable solutions are also pursued wherever available, including complementary pathways. To read the full Afghanistan RRP, please click here (The previous RRP 2022 can be found here).