Born in a refugee camp: Charity’s story
April 18, 10:40 a.m. in the Siripi Health Centre, Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement near Arua, Uganda: At 6.15 a.m., 20-year-old Charity Fikeira gave birth to her first child—a tiny but healthy baby girl. Yesterday, as her contractions increased, Charity walked nearly two...
UNHCR’s Mother and Baby Programs save lives every day
“To see a woman die in childbirth is something you never get used to. These are mostly healthy women and pregnancy is not a disease. In most cases you know that a few simple actions—a few simple items—would have been enough to save the mother and child.” Nadine...
Life, Death and Reproductive Health—Going Beyond Emergency Response
Most people know that UNHCR provides live-saving emergency assistance to refugees and displaced people in the form of clean water and sanitation, as well as shelter materials and other relief items, including blankets, sleeping mats and sometimes food. What many don’t...
Cash transfers—A better way of reaching refugees
Fatima, a Syrian refugee now living in the Jordanian capital of Amman, hasn’t heard from her husband in eight months. He stayed behind in Aleppo, Syria, to look after his elderly parents. She and her seven children live in a single, unheated room with barely enough...
Flat-Pack Shelter
Imagine living in a tent—for years on end. It’s freezing in the winter; broiling in the summer and not always reliable in the rain or during high winds. This is a reality for millions of refugees and an ongoing challenge for UNHCR, tasked with providing shelter for...
Thousands continue to flee wars and cross borders in search for a new life in safety
TOVARNIK, Croatia, Sept 25 (UNHCR)—They continue to come in their thousands, Afghans, Syrians, Iraqis and others, in an ever-shifting pattern across the Serbia-Croatia border, most fleeing conflict and persecution hoping their onward journey will deliver them to a...
UN refugee agency opens two new camps for displaced Iraqis in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept 25 (UNHCR)—The UN refugee agency, its partners and local authorities have opened two new camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Baghdad province, providing shelter to close to 3,500 Iraqis who have had to flee Anbar province due to recent...
UNHCR welcomes more EU support to refugees, urges fast implementation
GENEVA, Sept 24, (UNHCR)—The UN refugee agency today welcomed a decision by European Union leaders to boost resources for humanitarian assistance to countries neighbouring war-torn Syria. UNHCR, in a statement issued after the European Council decision, also welcomed...