Eighteen people died and others wounded in an overnight attack in Cameroon close to the Nigerian border, where thousands of internally displaced people have sought safety. Insecurity in the Far North region continues. 2,000 residents have adjusted their routines in fear of attack, making their lives even harder. provides protection and assistance with water, food, shelter and other items to more than 400,000 refugees in Cameroon, mainly from Nigeria and the Central African Republic.
UNHCR
As we mark five years after Europe鈥檚 refugee crisis, we revisit Awake at Night's episode with Boris Cheshirkov, who worked for UNHCR as a spokesperson in his native Bulgaria when thousands of refugees were arriving at the border.
She was 11 before she saw the inside of a classroom, so Parisa was not about to stop learning even under lockdown. 鈥淢y sister and I followed our lessons on the television, but we had to borrow my older sister鈥檚 smartphone to do our exams,鈥 she said. A decade ago, her family fled Afghanistan after the Taliban terrorized their neighbourhood in Herat. The extremists also threatened to kidnap any girls who dared to go to school. In Iran, where her family fled to, Parisa and her six siblings found safety, but during her first years in exile she couldn鈥檛 go to school. Based on UNHCR data, the Malala Fund has estimated that as a result of the coronavirus half of all refugee girls in secondary school will not return when classrooms reopen this month.
assists in relocating many vulnerable refugee children to Luxembourg and Germany from insecure reception centres. The move came at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turkmenistan now champions universal birth registration
UNHCR鈥檚 Salome Ayukuru, widely known as 鈥楳ama鈥, has been helping vulnerable refugees to rebuild their shattered lives for nearly two decades.
Brazil has become the second worst affected country in the world, with nearly 83,000 confirmed deaths and a continuing increase in confirmed cases. Considered an epicenter of the pandemic in Latin America, the situation is taking its toll on the most vulnerable 鈥 including the poorest, indigenous populations and other native communities, as well as refugees. All have been disproportionately impacted. Brazil is host to more than 345,000 refugees and asylum seekers, for whom the consequences of the pandemic are especially harsh. As socio-economic conditions worsen among refugee and asylum seeker communities, UNHCR has been disbursing cash assistance to those most vulnerable.
While the situation is worrying, so far the number of identified COVID-19 cases amongst the Rohingya refugee population is relatively low at just 62 cases as of July. The community health volunteers鈥 role has become even more important since humanitarian workers have scaled back their work in the camps to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus. has worked with to train the volunteers on how to identify symptoms and make referrals for testing. But they must contend with the fear and rumours that have discouraged many people from approaching health facilities.
Despite having cancer, Olena Miryasheva was denied access to health care: she could not be registered at the outpatient clinic, could not obtain a prescription, and could not even undergo a medical examination which would have been free for a Ukrainian citizen. A new statelessness determination procedure in Ukraine gives people without identity documents the right to work, study and access health care.
asked youth to draw in solidarity with refugees amid the pandemic. They received 2,000 drawings from 100 countries, chose seven and brought them to life.
Actress and Good Will Ambassador Cate Blanchett explains the causes and consequences of statelessness. She outlines what barriers a stateless person may experience, even without any displacement, to leading a normal life.
The presents Nabil Attard, a refugee chef from Syria, lived through a crisis in his home country. Now living in France, he delivers for those on the frontlines during a crisis in his new country.
The brings us the story of Salwa Atoo, a mother of seven with a no-nonsense attitude, who is the neighbourhood鈥檚 conflict mediator. It all began when she deescalated an argument at a water pump at a site for Internally Displaced Persons in Juba, South Sudan, where long lines in the hot sun often lead to short tempers and jostling. Then she staged an intervention for an alcoholic neighbour and helped a woman access medical care following a sexual assault.
UNHCR is alarmed at the increasing number of violent attacks on displaced civilians by armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). UNHCR is calling on the authorities to strengthen the presence of police, military forces with support of to improve the security situation. Over five million people have been uprooted by insecurity within the country鈥檚 borders, while nearly a million Congolese have sought safety in neighbouring countries as refugees.
Cate Blanchett was inspired and impassioned by her work and experiences as a Goodwill Ambassador for , the UN Refugee Agency, to shine a light on what loss of identity can mean.