UNHCR cash assistance programme enables vulnerable refugees to meet their basic needs
UNHCR cash assistance programme enables vulnerable refugees to meet their basic needs
Bakht Meena, an Afghan refugee woman along with her children posing for a photograph at her home.
By Qaiser Khan Afridi and Waseem Ahmed
At 38 years old, Afghan refugee Bakht Meena’s life took a devastating turn. Her husband, the sole breadwinner family, passed away from cancer. She was widowed, left alone in a refugee village in Charsadda district, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to take care of her five young children.
Her own medical issues, Pakistan’s prevailing economic situation and the tragic floods which badly affected both local communities and refugees hit her hard, both financially and psychologically.
“I remember the good times with my husband when life was stable and happy,” she said while sitting on the premises of her mudbrick home. “But his untimely death left us feeling desolate and vulnerable.”
“I’m facing multiple problems due to my financial and physical condition. I’m suffering from kidney disease which requires lots of money to treat,” she continued.
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Bakht was born and raised in Pakistan to Afghan refugee parents who fled from Kunar Province in Afghanistan.
Since her husband’s death, her in-laws and community members had at times offered some financial support. However, with soaring prices of necessities including for food and fuel, Bakht struggled to meet her family’s needs and relying on
Like Meena, hundreds and thousands of people across Pakistan including refugees are still recovering from the devastation of the 2022 floods while also grappling with the prevailing economic situation.
Meena took a sigh of relief when UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, stepped in to provide financial support to Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
UNHCR’s cash assistance programme was launched in January 2023 in collaboration with the Government of Pakistan, the private sector and other partners, and was concluded in June. Afghan refugees received up to PKR 25,000, depending on their family size.
“UNHCR’s cash assistance has helped us a lot,” said Bakht in relief. “I bought some food for Ramzan and clothes for my children for Eid and the rest and I spent on my kidney medication.” Bakht urged UNHCR to continue to support those like her in need.
“This assistance has helped those hardest hits by the economic downturn and presented a precious lifeline for refugees to meet their most basic needs,” said Ms. Noriko Yoshida, UNHCR Representative in Pakistan.
UNHCR’s cash assistance programme reached over one million refugees in Pakistan in 2023, with the generous support of Austria, Canada, Denmark, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), Kuwait-American Foundation, Kuwait, Ireland, the Mohammad Bin Rashid Global Initiatives and the United States of America.