BACKGROUND
The aim of UNHCR Pakistan’s Community-based Protection (CBP) strategy is to empower Person of Concern (POCs) to have an effective role as protection actors and meaningfully participate in the design, planning and implementation of activities that are most needed within their communities. CBP seeks to restore positive roles within a community and rebuild community-based support mechanisms and protection structures. UNHCR, in collaboration with partners; International Catholic Migration Committee (ICMC), Society for Human Rights and Prisoners Aid (SHARP), DANESH, Water, Environment and Sanitation Society (WESS) and Commissioner for Afghan Refuges (CAR), continue its efforts to implement CBP interventions throughout the country.
The four key priorities of the strategy covers:
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A Network of outreach volunteers (OVs) to facilitate effective and efficient outreach and communication with communities.
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Training and capacity building of UNHCR, partners, and communities in the practice of community-based protection.
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Community-level referral pathways to services and accountability mechanisms.
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Support to positive behavior change to reduce incidence of harmful social practices.
HIGHLIGHTS
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UNHCR Pakistan held consultative dialogues in all provinces with NGO partners, stakeholders, and refugee communities in order to take-stock of the first three years of CBP implementation and discuss key areas of focus for the revision of the CBP strategy for 2020-2022. These consultations, including targeted focus group discussions with refugee community leaders, outreach volunteers, women’s groups, and students provided useful feedback and direction for CBP for the coming years.
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Using a multi-functional team approach, staff from UNHCR and partner organizations completed the Participatory Assessment (PA) field exercise in all provinces, In total, the teams conducted 55 focus group discussions and 31 key informant interviews throughout the country. The country-wide PA report was completed and utilized for strategic planning discussions in 2020, with plans to feed back the results to the communities in the coming weeks.
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UNHCR’s CBP team in Peshawar, together with partners, conducted comprehensive assessments for all identified persons with specific needs (PwSN) and provided targeted assistance. The exercise covered 2 refugee villages (Badaber, Shamshatoo). UNHCR, in collaboration with SHARP and Habib Physio Therapy Centre in Peshawar, Kohat and Haripur districts have started rehabilitation and treatment for 150 persons with varied disabilities. Additionally, 128 caregivers were also trained on home-based care & management of disabilities.
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The UNHCR CBP team in Quetta and OVs utilized Refugee Housing Units (RHUs) to establish an accelerated learning school in Qadri Abad for refugee children. The school targets out of school children and currently 350 students (boys and girls) are attending classes.
