New UNHCR Report shows progress in refugee inclusion across Southern Africa, but sustained support needed to keep momentum

Pretoria, 05 September 2025 - Governments across Southern Africa are making steady progress in including refugees and asylum-seekers in national systems. This was revealed in a new regional report released today by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, which warns that dwindling resources risk undermining these gains. There are currently 11.5 million displaced people in the region, up from 8.5 million in 2023.

The report outlines sustainable responses across education, health, water and sanitation, economic participation, and national data and planning. Governments and partners are moving to include refugees in national services and to reflect displacement in development plans and policies. As displacement in Southern Africa increasingly cuts across borders, regional cooperation through the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is growing to align policies and coordinate action, including on movements triggered by extreme weather and natural hazards.

“Southern Africa has shown that inclusion is not only possible but already happening in spite of the challenges,” said Chansa Kapaya, UNHCR’s Regional Director for Southern Africa. “Continuing on this path is the way to ensure that both host communities and refugees thrive especially as we witness significant declines for humanitarian funding globally”.

The report highlights concrete progress across the region. Zambia has extended national health insurance to refugees, while Malawi and Mozambique are integrating refugee children into public schools. Refugees in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe are included in national household surveys to strengthen policy planning. In the Republic of the Congo, refugees are enrolled in the national social protection programme on par with nationals. Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi have brought refugees into national agricultural programmes and financial services, and Mozambique and Namibia have reflected displacement in development plans. Securing legal identity through documentation and civil registration remains critical; Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa have incorporated refugees and asylum-seekers into national registration systems. These are just a few examples of how sustainable responses are taking root.

“Sustaining this progress will take stronger policies, predictable financing, and continued solidarity from the international community”, Kapaya added.

Despite this progress, many services in refugee-hosting areas remain under strain. Without sufficient and sustained support, gains could stall or reverse. Restrictions on work, access to land, and credit in some countries continue to limit opportunities, while fragile health systems and gaps in legal documentation hinder inclusion.

Southern Africa has momentum and replicable models for advancing sustainable responses. Scaling them will depend on deeper regional cooperation and stronger partnerships across governments, development actors, UN agencies, civil society, the private sector, and communities to build resilient systems that benefit displaced people and the countries that host them.

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Download the full report: [here]

For more information, contact:

• Duniya Aslam, [email protected], +27 84 585 720
• Edward Ogolla, [email protected], +27 63 548 2215