Unearmarked contributions and rapid funding from Denmark have allowed UNHCR to quickly scale up and respond in emergencies such as breakout of conflict in Sudan, the earthquakes in Syria and Türkiye and tragic fires in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Four Sudanese women wait to be registered as refugees in Koufroun, Ouaddai region in Chad, a few hundred metres over the border. Most of those arriving are women and children, who are currently sheltering out in the open. ©UNHCR/Colin Delfosse.
In a world where 110 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to war, persecution, conflict, and human rights violations, funding is crucial. Some situations, not least longstanding and protracted crises, often do not get enough attention to reach a sustainable level of funding – at other times, emergencies occur and require immediate reactions. In those situations, funding from donors is essential to the work of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
For many years, Denmark has been a big contributor of unearmarked and flexible funding. Thus far in 2023, USD 35.6 million of the total Danish contribution are unearmarked. More than 80% of Denmark’s annual contribution comes at the start of each year in the form of unearmarked or flexibly earmarked contributions – meaning that Danish support allows UNHCR to act quickly when new crises emerge and to support underfunded operations in protracted and forgotten situations. Moreover, Denmark provides additional contributions to UNHCR when a situation quickly and unexpectedly deteriorates.
Here are three situations where unearmarked and emergency funding from Denmark, is making a difference:
Fire in refugee camps in Bangladesh
One million stateless Rohingya refugees are hosted in the world’s largest refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. The refugee camps are highly exposed to weather related hazards, such as fires, cyclones, and floodings. In March 2023, a fire in the refugee camps destroyed close to 3,000 shelters and left 16,000 people homeless. The fire also damaged other facilities such as hospitals and learning centers.
UNHCR rapidly distributed blankets, kitchen sets and water tanks as well as shelter materials to the refugees who had lost their homes. To improve infrastructure, bamboo bridges and footpaths have been installed, and further activities have taken place to prevent landslides. In addition, an alternative shelter design is being piloted so that accommodation is less vulnerable to weather and fire.
UNHCR and partners are continuously training refugee emergency responders to respond to fires, and fire drills are organized regularly. Because of this training, during the fires in March 2023, hundreds of Rohingya refugees were able to contain the fire until local firefighter teams arrived.
Earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria
In February 2023, two powerful earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria claimed thousands of lives and destroyed more than 47,000 houses. The quakes struck in provinces with high numbers of refugees in Türkiye and internally displaced people in Syria, and many of them are now displaced for the second time. Even though UNHCR already had a strong presence in both countries, scaling up the response and operation was necessary.
Many people lost everything to the earthquakes. In Türkiye, UNCHR has, thus far, handed out 109,400 hygiene kits, 444,500 sanitary items and 204,100 blankets and sleeping bags. In total, 2.9 million UNHCR aid items have been delivered.
Between February and May, more than 101,000 individuals were supported with protection interventions in Syria. This includes psychosocial support sessions, referrals to basic services, legal assistance, and awareness raising.
Armed conflicts in Sudan
In April 2023, armed clashes and conflict broke out in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, so far forcing more than 2.7 million people to leave their homes to escape the violence. Many of the displaced fled to neighboring countries such as Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, arriving at remote border areas with little infrastructure and services to support them.
In Sudan’s neighboring countries, UNHCR is working closely with partners and authorities to support new arrivals by setting up transit centers and establishing and expanding camps that can provide longer-term support to the refugees.
Inside Sudan, UNHCR is assisting both the many internally displaced people as well as refugees, hosted in Sudan. We are registering and gathering information about the displaced and identifying people with specific needs.
Denmark as a donor:
Denmark is a consistent donor to UNHCR. Thus far in 2023, Denmark has supported UNHCR’s operations and activities around the world with USD 89.3 million to UNHCR, of which USD 35.6 million is unearmarked, matching the 2022 unearmarked contribution. In 2022, Denmark contributed a total of USD 106.9 million to UNHCR making it the 8th biggest government donor and the 4th largest donor per capita.
Denmark has also provided swift and specific contributions to strengthen UNHCR’s response in acute crises and emergencies: Denmark contributed USD 2.3 million to the Chad operation after the outbreak of conflict in Sudan in April of this year and an additional USD 1.5 million to the regional response to the Sudan situation. After the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, Denmark contributed USD 1.5 million to the earthquake response in Türkiye, and then provided an additional USD 1.6 million to UNHCR’s Syria and Türkiye Earthquake Emergency appeal. Denmark also provided a contribution of USD 1.5 million to UNHCR’s emergency response to the fires in the Rohingya refugee camps.
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