URNA Launched To Study Urban Afghan Refugees Needs

News Desk

Islamabad: We want to ensure that Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan do not feel marginalised and have access to all public services. This way, it will become an opportunity for growth, diversity and unity, said SAFRON Secretary Pervaiz Ahmed Junejo.

The ‘Urban Refugees Needs Assessment Study’(URNA) was launched in Islamabad on Wednesday to provide an evidence base for the response to the needs of urban Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

The study provides evidence to support the newly established Urban Refugees Support Units (URSUs) for better provision of services to urban Afghan refugees in five key areas of education, health, livelihood, protection and repatriation.

The assessment was conducted through the collaborative efforts between the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CAR) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the Institute of Management Sciences, the Center for Public Policy and Research (CPPR) Peshawar, and GIZ Pakistan to address the challenges faced by urban Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

GIZ Pakistan Country Director Tobias Becker said that the URNA informs about the work of the new URSUs that the CAR has been piloting in KP with our support.

GIZ Pakistan supports the government in fostering social cohesion between Afghan refugees and Pakistani host communities, Tobias further stated.

Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refugees Muhammad Abbas Khan urged policymakers, civil society actors, and local and international partners to use the insights from this report as a catalyst for positive change.

Together, we can transform the challenges faced by urban refugees into opportunities for a brighter, more inclusive future, Abbas Khan added.

We look forward to sustained and collaborative approaches to effectively address the concerns highlighted in this report to ‘Leave No One Behind’, remarked German Embassy First Secretary Dorota Berezick. Additional input from APP