COVID-19 inducing ‘widespread despair’ among refugees, UNHCR appeals for urgent support for mental health
The consequences of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, deteriorating socio-economic conditions, protracted displacement and the critical shortfall in solutions to displacement are leading to widespread despair among refugees, warns UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency today....
Q&A: ‘Before the pandemic, refugee mental health was severely overlooked. Now it’s a full-blown crisis’
UNHCR’s Senior Mental Health Officer Pieter Ventevogel says COVID-19 has been a tipping point for many refugees in distress. But with the crisis comes an opportunity. By Tim Gaynor Psychiatrist Pieter Ventevogel has led UNHCR’s mental health response for the past six...
A month after Moria fires, UNHCR warns of worsening conditions ahead of winter
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Four weeks after the fires destroyed Moria Reception and Identification Centre on...
Thousands flee armed group attacks in eastern DR Congo
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is rushing support to tens of thousands of people who...
Rohingya refugee children learn to support one another
Peer-to-peer mental health initiative helps young refugees learn to cope with a life in exile in Bangladesh. By Don Murray and Louise Donovan in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh Kneeling with 14 other children in a circle, 13-year-old Myshara calls out: “When we’re in...
Finding wellbeing through yoga at a Kenyan refugee camp
A Ugandan refugee is using yoga to promote self-acceptance and mental wellbeing among refugees in Kakuma camp. By Samuel Otieno in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya Rita Brown raises her smartphone in the air to check for connectivity as she rolls her purple training mat...
#IAmAnAdvocate: Former Iraqi refugees and brothers create art to raise funds in support of displaced people worldwide
After fleeing persecution in Iraq because of their Yazidi religion, Ismail, Salam and Jason Noah are creating art to help refugees and other displaced persons through donating to UNHCR. Now based in France, the sibling trio use their art as a powerful outlet through...
Juba Peace Agreement a unique chance to solve displacement in Sudan and South Sudan
Joint Statement by UNHCR, IGAD, the EU and the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan. GENEVA – Today, on the margins of UNHCR’s annual Executive Committee proceedings, the Foreign Ministers of Sudan and South Sudan held a meeting chaired by the UN High...