Yemen sees fresh displacement after five years of conflict
After fleeing latest fighting in country’s north, Yemenis describe harrowing route to safety and dire conditions on arrival as humanitarian aid struggles to meet needs. By UNHCR staff in Marib, Yemen Nasra described the scene of chaos and panic during the night in...
The invisible crisis: A UNHCR staffer on the front lines in Venezuela
By Hannah Scott It can be hard to imagine a crisis involving more than four million people as invisible — but to UNHCR Communications Officer Olga Sarrado Mur, the Venezuela situation often feels that way. In April of 2018, Sarrado Mur was working in Jordan helping...
Racing for her future
Eritrean refugee finds a Canadian home through running By Fiona Irvine-Goulet “When I run, I feel free. I forget everything and I concentrate on my run, and it makes me feel good.” Nazret Kobodom, 16, is a rising long-distance running star in Calgary, Alberta, a young...
UNHCR seeks US$255 million to respond to COVID-19 outbreak
Funding is part of wider UN appeal for US$2 billion to safeguard ‘millions of people who are least able to protect themselves from the new coronavirus.’ By UNHCR staff in Geneva As the coronavirus pandemic accelerates, claiming thousands of lives each day, those at...
UNHCR’s airlift with vital medical aid lands in Iran
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, airlifted today (23 March) some 4.4 tonnes of much-needed medical aid items, including supplies to support the COVID-19 response in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Airbus A330-200 arrived at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran from...
Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah makes the largest individual contribution ever in support of UNHCR
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Thani Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani Humanitarian Fund announced today in Doha Sheikh Thani’s largest contribution so far to UNHCR. More than US$43 million, channelled through four separate agreements, will fund UNHCR’s work in...How UNHCR is responding to the COVID-19 outbreak
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. On March 11, 2020, the WHO officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. The coronavirus situation...
Syria Crisis Nine Years On: Naleen’s Story
Naleen strums her tanbur, a traditional stringed instrument, with grace and confidence. It’s like an extension of her, bringing her own story into the world through the music she’s playing. For 15-year-old Naleen, art reflects reality: her tanbur was one of the only...