The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has started disbursing emergency cash assistance to Afghan refugee families in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa impacted by COVID-19 in Pakistan.

Pakistan hosts around 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees. Around 58% of the refugees in Pakistan live in the north-western province that shares a border with Afghanistan. A majority of them live hand-to-mouth. Those who were daily wage earners, were let go off due to the lockdown in Pakistan.

The Agency is being assisted by the Pakistani Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) and the Pakistan Post.
The emergency cash assistance is of approximately $77 which is equivalent to 12,000 Pakistani rupees. The first phase of the programme will reach out to 36,000 families.