Empowering Afghan refugee youth a key project, says Danish official

ISLAMABAD: Danish Charge d Affaires Jakob Rogild Jakobsen Friday said empowering Afghan refugee youth in Pakistan through enhanced vocational training and livelihood projects was an important initiative to shore up the human capital of Afghan refugees.

He was talking to Indrika Ratwatte, UNHCR country representative, who called on him to discuss the current situation of Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons in Pakistan. Empowering Afghan refugees would allow them to contribute to the reconstruction and development processes upon return to Afghanistan, he said, according to a statement of the embassy here.

Denmark has allocated approximately three million dollars towards UNHCR programmes in Pakistan for 2016. Its contribution will support implementation of Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees UNHCR’s activities towards voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and efforts to empower refugee youth in Pakistan through provision of vocational training and technical skills.

The total of Danish funds for UNHCR Pakistan amounts to a total of USD 13.2 million since 2013 to date. Ratwatte highlighted that due to the generous support from Denmark and other donors, UNHCR was able to implement a five-year Health Transition Strategy (2014-18) which has been developed by UNHCR and has gradually been rolled out and aimed at implementing the progressive disengagement of UNHCR from existing parallel system of Basic Health Unit (BHUs) exiting in the rural villages.

Pakistan continues to generously host over 1.5 million Afghan refugee Proof of Registration cardholders. Children and youth constitute approximately 70 percent of the total refugee population.

While Afghan refugees are dispersed across more than 70 countries, an overwhelming 95 per cent continue to be hosted by Pakistan and Iran. Some 3.9 million Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan since 2002, including more than 58,000 in 2015, said the statement. Discussing the current status of refugees and the voluntary repatriation process, Jakobsen appreciated UNHCR’s work and said Denmark looked at Afghan refugee crisis from a regional perspective.

Denmark is among the biggest contributors to UNHCR’s regional program in South West Asia. Ratwatte said UNHCR Pakistan supports youth empowerment through a nexus of inter-linked interventions in the areas of education, skills, training and livelihood support. He recalled that inclusive and equitable education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all has been agreed upon in the Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goal.