Global Humanitarian Overview 2024

Regional Refugee Response Plans

In 2024, UNHCR will work with a wide range of partners to implement six Regional Refugee Response Plans (RRPs) that support host governments to protect and assist refugees as well as the communities receiving them. These will include Regional Plans for refugees from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan region, Sudan, and Ukraine. In addition, UNHCR and UNDP will continue to co-lead the Syria Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP). In total, these regional plans cover 34 countries.

Joda boarder crossing, South Sudan, Sudanese refugees and South Sudanese returnees arrive in South Sudan through Joda border point, following conflict in Khartoum. They are awaiting onward transportation to the transit site in Renk, approximately 60km away. Due to a drastic increase in new arrivals, onward transportation cannot keep up. Many are stranded for days before they are able to proceed to the transit site.

Sudan (RRP)

Central African Republic,
Chad,
Sudan
8 December 2023

Afghanistan (RRP)

  • Current People in Need
    7.3 million
  • Current People Targeted
    7.3 million
  • Current Requirements (US$)
    $620.4 million
People in Need at launch (Dec. 2023)
7.3 million
People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2023)
7.3 million
Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2023)
$620.0 million
Type of appeal
Refugee Response Plan
Countries covered
Pakistan, Iran
Refugees, Afghans in refugee-like situations and Afghans of other status targeted
4.8 million
Host community members targeted
2.5 million

Analysis of context, crisis and needs

Looking to 2024, the situation in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries remains challenging. The humanitarian needs inside Afghanistan remain dire – some 29.2 million people (two-thirds of Afghanistan’s population) require urgent humanitarian assistance to survive. The situation has been compounded by a devastating series of earthquakes in Herat in October 2023, as well as the potential impact of large-scale returns from Pakistan especially also due to the ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ announced by the Government of Pakistan on 3 October. Afghans return out of fear of arrest or deportation in Pakistan. Actions implemented have a negative impact on the voluntary nature of return/act as “pressure” upon Afghans to return, even if they are not immediately/directly targeted. Some Afghans are leaving Pakistan now in anticipation that the expiry of POR cards at the end of the year will leave them undocumented and subject to removal.

The Islamic Republics of Iran and Pakistan host 8.2 million Afghans, many of whom have been in these host countries for decades, around 1.6 million have arrived since the start of 2021 alone, according to government estimates. Pakistan hosts approximately 3.7 million Afghan Refugees and Afghans of other statuses, reflecting the long history of solidarity and support extended by the country. However, the protection environment has become increasingly challenging. The presence of a substantial population of Afghan refugees and Afghans of other statuses underscores the importance of carefully navigating this evolving protection landscape. Pakistan continues to grapple with the complexities of providing adequate support and ensuring the protection of this vulnerable population while balancing the needs of its own citizens. Recognizing the plight of Afghan refugees and those in refugee-like situations, including women and girls without documentation, there is a pressing need for sustainable solutions and comprehensive support systems. It is crucial to ensure access to education and primary healthcare for all, while also creating opportunities for livelihoods to alleviate poverty and promote self-reliance. The multifaceted challenges presented by the changing protection environment highlight the ongoing need to work collaboratively and proactively to ensure the continued safety and well-being of Afghan refugees and individuals of other statuses in Pakistan. It remains crucial to foster an environment that upholds their rights and safeguards their dignity, while also addressing the concerns of the host community.

Afghanistan RRP

Peshawar, Pakistan

Laila, a mother-of-five, is among beneficiaries who recently received a cash grant from UNHCR, helping to support her and her family for the next three months.

UNHCR/Samand Ibrahimi

According to government estimates, Iran hosts at least 4.5 million Afghans, including over 1 million who have arrived since August 2021. This includes 3.4 million Afghan refugees and Afghans in a refugee-like situation (including some 750,000 Amayesh card holders, and over 2.6 million recorded in the 2022 headcount exercise). Many of the remaining 1.1 million Afghan individuals in Iran – including women and girls – are without documentation due to a lack of available pathways to seek asylum or regularize their stay. Afghans continue to arrive in Iran daily, primarily via irregular routes. New arrivals join millions of other Afghans who have been generously hosted in Iran for decades, many of whom are third or fourth-generation refugees. Iran continues to grant access to education and primary healthcare to Afghan nationals, including those without documentation. However, for Afghans and Iranian host communities alike, lack of livelihood and poverty - exacerbated by the combined impact of high levels of inflation and unilateral economic sanctions - continue to drive need. The most disadvantaged in society, disproportionately comprising Afghan refugees, are increasingly forced to make difficult trade-offs or resort to negative coping strategies to make ends meet. Specifically, Afghans may face challenges in covering costs related to school enrolment, healthcare, or documentation. In turn those without documentation face a particularly precarious situation due to persistent risks of deportation, labour exploitation, and further barriers to accessing services. The situation is compounded by increasing anti-Afghan sentiment across society. With durable solutions elusive to most, Afghan refugees - irrespective of documentation status - also face immediate and interlinked challenges in establishing self-reliance, leaving them susceptible to shocks and stresses.

Iran

Markazi province, Iran

Afghan children at a refugee settlement.

UNICEF/Mehdi Sayyari

Strategic objectives and response priorities 2024

The Refugee Response Plan (RRP) for the Afghanistan Situation has evolved into a two-year plan for 2024-2025, with partners providing a budget for 2024 as well as an indicative budget for 2025, which will be reassessed at the end of 2024, based on the developing situation. As part of this transition, moving forward the RRP will focus just on the two major host countries for Afghan refugees – Iran and Pakistan. For 2024 and 2025, it is expected that Afghan populations, including new arrivals, will remain in need of support, exacerbated by the difficult economic situation in host countries. Host communities also need significant support, and investments in infrastructure require major attention since they continue to support large Afghan populations.

Afghanistan RRP

Spin Buldak, Afghanistan

Afghans queue at the boarder crossing to enter Pakistan. Between three and four thousand Afghans cross this border every day in the hope of moving to Pakistan and taking advantage of the better economic opportunities that exist there. Almost all are sent straight back to Afghanistan by the Pakistani authorities.

UNHCR/Andrew McConnell

Acknowledging the huge contribution of host countries, the RRP reaffirms the regional multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral approach which aims at strengthening the humanitarian and development response in support of host governments. As well as building community resilience, the RRP will deliver concrete actions, with a focus on community-based interventions incorporating an age, gender and diversity approach, cross-border collaboration, and durable solutions within the framework of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR). The 2024-2025 RRP, through four strategic objectives, will aim to:

  1. Ensure coordinated efforts towards solutions in line with the objectives of the SSAR.
  2. Reinforce a humanitarian-development nexus approach, to build resilient communities, strengthening local and national systems of host countries which have supported Afghans for decades, in the spirit of international responsibility- and burden-sharing and in line with the Global Compact on Refugees. Priorities include national education and healthcare infrastructure and supporting livelihoods for Afghans and host communities.
  3. Support host governments to ensure access to territory and asylum, and protection in accordance with international standards, including respect for the principle of non-refoulement, admission, reception, registration, and documentation.
  4. Respond to the basic needs of the most vulnerable, including via sustained support to government-led emergency preparedness efforts and multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral support to swiftly respond to those newly displaced by conflict, natural disasters, and other crises, as well as to existing populations who have seen their situation deteriorate due to the rising cost of living.


In line with the Global Compact on Refugees, partner organizations in Iran and Pakistan have developed a comprehensive response plan to address the needs of Afghans and their host communities via progressive policies that promote education, livelihoods, health and social inclusion. These will continue to be critical, as will addressing cross-sectoral priorities such as PSEA, AAP and climate action. In line with this approach, partners will continue to support host governments in maintaining and expanding their inclusive policies, which provide Afghan refugees with access to education and primary health services, while also advancing support of self-reliance and durable solutions.

Democratic Republic of the Congo (RRP)

  • Current People in Need
    1.9 million
  • Current People Targeted
    1.9 million
  • Current Requirements (US$)
    $668.3 million
People in Need at launch (Dec. 2023)
1.9 million
People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2023)
1.9 million
Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2023)
$629.8 million
Type of appeal
Refugee Response Plan
Countries covered
Angola, Burundi, Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia
Refugees targeted
966,000
Host community members targeted
891,000

Analysis of context, crisis and needs

The emergency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the most complex humanitarian crises in the world. Decades of clashes between armed groups and widespread violations of human rights have caused unprecedented levels of need and forced millions to flee their homes. The critical situation in the country has only worsened since the start of 2023: insecurity in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri has reached new heights, with the exponential rise in incidents of gender-based violence (GBV) being particularly concerning. Traditionally safe areas, such as Mai-Ndombé, have also seen increasing violence in the past few years. As a result of this unrelenting instability, by the end of October 2023, nearly 5.8 million people were displaced within the DRC and over 869,000 had crossed the borders into Angola, Burundi, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia in search of safety – 50,000 of whom fled in the first nine months of the year alone. Tensions emerging from the withdrawal of MONUSCO and the presidential elections in December are likely to lead to further displacement.

The prolonged nature of this crisis places a tremendous strain on countries that have generously opened their borders to refugees from the DRC. Organizations have redoubled their efforts to provide protection, assistance, and solutions to those in need; however, the response has been challenging.

Rwanda

Nkamira Transit Site, Rwanda

Refugee women and children fleeing fighting in Eastern DRC sit outside their tents.

UNHCR/Lilly Carlisle

The reduction of the asylum space observed in some host countries has resulted in unregistered populations and asylum-seekers being left in legal limbo, with no prospect of receiving refugee status and unable to access life-saving support. Often, these populations are also unable to secure the exit permits needed for their departure to third countries through resettlement, family reunification programmes and complementary pathways. In addition, multiple countries continue to promote encampment policies, limiting refugees to settlements that are overcrowded, in areas where basic services are stretched to their limits; this creates risks for refugee well-being, in no small part because the health conditions in host countries are fragile and outbreaks of measles, cholera and malaria place further strain on already-limited health services. Food insecurity and poor nutritional status, inaccessibility of agricultural areas, rising prices, funding shortages, and prolonged drought and tropical storms and cyclones are growing concerns among families. At the same time, lack of access to sustainable employment and livelihood opportunities, restrictions on refugees' freedom of movement and on their right to work, own land and property, and access education and justice remain major challenges. Under these constraints, refugees are increasingly vulnerable to human rights violations, exploitation, and abuse, and more frequently resort to harmful coping strategies to meet their basic needs.

Despite these difficulties, refugees from the DRC are expected to continue benefiting from international protection in 2024, and host governments are anticipated to make new commitments to refugee protection and assistance at the December 2023 Global Refugee Forum.

Congo

Congo

A family from the DRC, who fled inter-communal conflict, outside a house lent to them by nationals.

UNHCR/Cyprien Cheval

Strategic objectives and response priorities 2024

The DRC Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) is shifting to a two-year focus to better strategize and articulate the needs and priorities and allow for longer-term vision in ensuring solutions and resilience of the communities. The 2024-2025 plan will continue to bring together a wide range of stakeholders to provide protection, assistance, and durable solutions to 1.9 million refugees from the DRC and their host communities in Angola, Burundi, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia. In the spirit of the Global Compact on Refugees and in accordance with the Refugee Coordination Model, governments steer the response, while RRP Partners, led by UNHCR, will support and complement national and regional strategies, working closely with donors, development actors, the private sector, local partners and civil society.

Rwanda

Kigeme Refugee Camp, Rwanda

Tumayine, is a Congolese refugee and farmer living in a refugee camp.
Following a marshland development project, Tumayine says he is now able to better support his family and has invested in a sewing machine with the profits from his farm, enabling him to further diversify his income sources.

UNHCR/Lilly Carlisle

The 2024-2025 RRP is anchored by the following strategic objectives:

  1. Enhancing the protection environment: RRP Partners will promote policies and legislation that safeguard unhindered access to asylum and international protection, enable refugees' full enjoyment of rights and promote a conducive environment for local solutions. Partners will give emphasis to considerations around age, gender, and diversity, accountability to affected people, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse in their programming. GBV and child protection, prevention and response will be strengthened, and risk mitigation will be mainstreamed across sectors.
  2. Contributing to dignified lives and access to basic services: RRP Partners will help mitigate challenges such as access to food, education, WASH and health services, housing, and employment opportunities through multi-sector assistance. The delivery of basic needs services to vulnerable refugee and host communities will be prioritized to ensure they receive the support they need to live in dignity, to meet their basic needs, and to strengthen their capacity and resilience to deal with future shocks.
  3. Promoting access to and inclusion into national systems: RRP Partners will continue to work with Governments and other partners towards supporting increased access of refugees into national systems, including health, education, employment, social services and (sub-)national development plans, in support of the pledges made by host countries at the Global Refugee Forum. RRP Partners will therefore continue to strengthen public institutions across the region, helping to restore their capacity to deal with the impact of the crisis.
  4. Promoting self-reliance and pursuing durable solutions: RRP Partners will prioritize the promotion of livelihoods opportunities and economic inclusion of refugees and vulnerable host community members, to increase self-reliance and foster social cohesion and peaceful coexistence. Resettlement and complementary pathways will remain critical options for vulnerable refugees without perspectives of local solutions. Meanwhile, refugees who decide to voluntarily return will continue to be supported.

The RRP brings together 95 partners, who will need US$629.8 million to implement activities to support 1.9 million refugees and host community members in the seven countries in 2024. The RRP will emphasize the importance of partnering with local respondents and using and reinforcing national and local systems in addressing the increasing needs while supporting resilience and sustainable approaches in host countries.

Unlocking potential: ILO's apprenticeship programme in Uganda - Story of Fatuma #2

Uganda
International Labour Organization

Fatuma Barafumwa, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, shares her apprenticeship journey in Hotel Management training, supported by ILO.

South Sudan (RRP)

  • Current People in Need
    3.7 million
  • Current People Targeted
    3.7 million
  • Current Requirements (US$)
    $882 million
People in Need at launch (Dec. 2023)
5.7 million
People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2023)
4.7 million
Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2023)
$1.5 billion
Type of appeal
Refugee Response Plan
Countries covered
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda
Refugees targeted
2.3 million
Host community members targeted
2.4 million

Analysis of context, crisis and needs

South Sudan's displacement crisis remains one of Africa’s most significant in recent years, with 2.3 million refugees hosted in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda and 2.2 million internally displaced. Most South Sudanese refugees have been in asylum for at least a decade. The roots of this crisis are deep-seated, aggravated by a long, brutal civil war, and compounded by climate change and food insecurity. A four-year streak of flooding has decimated homes and livelihoods, exacerbated food shortages and weakened the economy.

The combined number of South Sudanese returnees from 2021-22 was 525,360. However, the pace of returns surged in 2023 as a result of the ongoing crisis in Sudan. As of 30 September, 334,317 refugees returned prematurely to South Sudan, with 62,393 returns in September 2023 alone. If the conflict in Sudan continues unabated, these high trends may continue in 2024. These returns were not predicted and have been hasty. People arriving are confronted by the dire situation in South Sudan, which already has huge humanitarian and development challenges. Over three-quarters of the population in South Sudan is deemed to need humanitarian aid, and parts of the country still face insecurity and climate shocks such as floods. In 2021, only 1,015 South Sudanese were admitted to third countries such as Canada, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States through resettlement and private sponsorship pathways. In 2022, resettlement decreased to just 994 individuals, representing less than one per cent of 114,242 admissions reported globally by resettlement States.

Sudan

White Nile, Sudan

Rainy season adds additional pressure on services in camps, challenges movements by residents and responding partners, and contributes to heightened susceptibility of vector borne disease outbreaks.

UNHCR/Isadora C. S. Zone

The prolonged displacement of South Sudanese across the region requires immense humanitarian assistance and support for host countries, which will continue into 2024. In the DRC, South Sudanese refugees are concentrated in the northern regions, notably Ituri and Haut-Uele, and many face protection risks due to ongoing insecurity, including gender-based violence (GBV) and have limited access to education and healthcare. In Ethiopia, South Sudanese refugees reside mainly in the Gambella region, while limited numbers are also hosted in the Benishangul Gumuz region. Despite government support, many services, including education, rely on humanitarian funds. The two refugee camps in Tongo and Gure Shambola were closed in February 2022 due to insecurity, resulting in the relocation of refugees to three camps in the Benishangul Gumiz region, which has put enormous pressure on services, including WASH, within the camp. In addition, since September 2023, some 6,000 South Sudanese refugees arrived in the Gambella region, due to the conflict in Pochalla in South Sudan with numbers expected to reach 8,000 by December 2023.

Integration efforts in the region aim to improve livelihoods but remain a work in progress as the countries of asylum face their own development and security challenges. Food security is of particular concern, also aggravated by reduced food ration across the region in 2023, contributing to increased malnutrition, especially among children. In Kenya, integration into national systems and access to services such as healthcare and education has progressed, particularly within the framework of the integrated socio-economic development plans in Garissa and Turkana counties and ongoing developments on the Government of Kenya’s Shirika Plan, but challenges remain for the full inclusion of refugees in national social protection, education and livelihoods programmes. Further, increased new arrivals in 2022 and 2023 have strained existing services, impacting long-term solutions. In Uganda, the Government continues to implement progressive refugee policies, allowing refugees access to land and basic services, but the impact is reduced as a result of inadequate resources. In Sudan, after having generously hosted refugees for many years, the country faces its own crisis in which refugees are caught up in the war, with some having been killed and others having to return prematurely to their country of origin to avoid the conflict or relocating to the already overcrowded camps in White Nile State.

Sudan

Um Sangour camp, Sudan

reza Bayak Gatkoy is a refugee from South Sudan who has been living in Um Sangour camp for years. Treza lost her child due to poliomyelitis. UNHCR and the World Health Organization (WHO) are warning of the worsening health situation as a result of the Sudan crisis. Health facilities across Sudan are struggling to cope due to shortages of staff, lifesaving medicine and critical equipment, exacerbating current outbreaks and causing unnecessary deaths.

UNHCR/Ala Kheir

In 2024, it is anticipated that more than 500,000 South Sudanese (registered refugees, migrants and others) in Sudan may return to South Sudan, with the majority coming back prematurely from Sudan. UNHCR has conservatively estimated that more than 250,000 South Sudanese refugees will have resettlement needs in 2024, while additional complementary pathways for admission to third countries will continue to have strategic importance in terms of durable solutions and sharing international responsibility for refugee protection. Without such opportunities, South Sudanese refugees will continue to require access to humanitarian assistance, including protection, education, healthcare, clean water, and sanitation, as well as long-term solutions promoting economic opportunities.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the East African Community (EAC) are the two main Regional Economic Communities of Africa with which partners will continue to pursue efforts to integrate refugees into national systems and explore regional solutions within the scope of, including promoting local solutions (e.g., the Shirika Plan in Kenya) for protracted displacement of South Sudanese.

While limited financial resources for humanitarian programmes remain the largest impediment to the response, other challenges persist. In 2024, insecurity may be a concern in the run-up to South Sudan’s first elections since independence. Political instability and conflict in the DRC stemming from the upcoming December 2023 elections could also hinder humanitarian programming. If the conflict in Sudan continues, it will have broader implications for regional cooperation, security, and solutions for refugee populations living in protracted situations.

Kenya

Turkana, Kenya

Sabina works as a Community Health Volunteer in Kalobeyei settlement where she attends to members from both the refugee and host communities on various healthcare needs.

UNHCR/Charity Nzomo

Strategic objectives and sectoral priorities

In 2024, the South Sudan RRP requires US$ 1.5 Billion for its partners to assist 4.7 million refugees and host community members.

The five core strategic objectives for South Sudanese refugees in 2024 include, which will also be applied across the sectoral response:

  1. Maintaining asylum space and enhancing protection and the realization of the rights of the refugees and asylum-seekers
  2. Providing quality, efficient and timely protection and lifesaving multisectoral assistance to refugees, asylum-seekers and host communities, including prevention and response to GBV and protection against sexual exploitation and abuse, child protection, birth registration, and enhancing Accountability to Affected People
  3. Promoting the inclusion of the refugees and asylum-seekers into national systems including for child protection, legal and physical protection, social protection, education, health, and livelihoods and resilience through strategic engagement with governments, the private sector, regional bodies and development actors
  4. Enhancing sustainable and durable solutions for refugees and asylum-seekers including opportunities for resettlement and complementary pathways for admission to third countries
  5. Advocating for measures allowing refugees to exercise greater self-reliance and resilience, including economic mobility, and more international support to the South Sudan situation, leveraging pledges which will be made at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum

The South Sudanese refugee response plan prioritizes cross-cutting efforts to enhance protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, and accountability to affected populations, ensuring the safety, rights and dignity of the refugees. In partnership, localization will be a guiding principle with national NGOs, local authorities, and local communities, including refugees. The response is also committed to climate shock mitigation across the response.

It is incumbent upon host countries, humanitarian organizations, development partners and the private sector to rally together in coordinated efforts to meet the immediate needs of refugees and contribute to lasting solutions for refugees from South Sudan.

Sudan (RRP)

  • Current People in Need
    1.4 million
  • Current People Targeted
    1.4 million
  • Current Requirements (US$)
    $504.6 million
People in Need at launch (Dec. 2023)
5.3 million
People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2023)
5.3 million
Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2023)
$1.3 billion
Type of appeal
Refugee Response Plan
Countries covered
Chad, Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan
Refugees targeted
2.1 million
Host community members targeted
408,805

Analysis of context, crisis and needs

Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have continued since 15 April 2023, displacing nearly 6.2 million people inside and outside Sudan. This is now the largest protection crisis in the region. As of 3 November, close to 1.2 million people had fled Sudan since the outbreak of the conflict. This includes nearly 893,000 refugees and asylum-seekers (mainly Sudanese but also other nationalities of refugees previously hosted in Sudan), and over 304,000 refugee returnees (mainly South Sudanese, but also Chadians, Central Africans, and Ethiopians). Before the conflict, Sudan was host to one of the largest refugee populations in Africa (1.1 million refugees).

The situation in Sudan remains dire, with physical security, extortion, forced recruitment including of children and refugees, conflict-related sexual violence, and trafficking and smuggling. Human rights violations by parties to the conflict also continue to be reported, most notably in Khartoum and Darfur states. Areas less affected by direct conflict have received displaced people, which have stretched their services thin, and, in many instances, these states are unable to meet critical needs. Despite attempts at various ceasefires and peace agreements, restoration to peace has been unsuccessful and if the conflict continues in 2024, people will likely continue to flee out of the country, with over 600,000 Sudanese refugees, and refugees of other nationalities seeking asylum and 450,000 people returning to their countries of origin. In addition to the internal displacement of nationals in Sudan, as many as 230,000 refugees may be secondarily displaced.

South Sudan

Renk, Upper Nile State, South Sudan

Heavy rains have aggravated dire humanitarian conditions in the UNHCR transit centre in Renk, which currently hosts thousands of refugees, the majority of whom are South Sudanese returnees, who have fled the conflict in Sudan.

UNHCR/Samuel Otieno

The five neighbouring countries, the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan were already hosting a large number of refugees, including 800,000 Sudanese refugees, before 15 April 2023. In addition, CAR, South Sudan and Chad also host internally displaced populations. The new refugee arrivals to Chad add to the more than 400,000 Sudanese refugees who have been in a protracted situation in eastern Chad for some 20 years. In South Sudan, 76 per cent of the population was already estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance, in addition to more than 280,000 Sudanese who arrived pre-April 2023. In Ethiopia, more than 20 million people need humanitarian assistance in addition to almost 50,000 Sudanese refugees who arrived pre-April 2023. The hosting countries have, for the most part, opened their borders to those seeking safety. However, humanitarian programmes are chronically underfunded and need international support to sustain the generosity of the host countries. Despite historically hosting refugees, and having the second-highest number of arrivals of Sudanese refugees, Egypt has imposed stringent entry requirements, including the mandatory need for a valid passport and visa for all Sudanese nationals, which may have impeded access to asylum.

Egypt

Cairo, Egypt

Rauth, 29, and her family arrived in Egypt after leaving Sudan. The situation in their home country has prevented them from returning home, they turned to the UNHCR registration center on the outskirts of Cairo in search of international protection. Once the violence subsides in Sudan and conditions allow, they would like to return to their home to be with the rest of their family.

UNHCR/Jaime Giménez

Most new arrivals enter through very remote border locations of the neighbouring countries where humanitarian partners provide critical life-saving assistance and facilitate onward movement in extremely difficult conditions requiring extensive logistical arrangements. People are being assisted to move onwards, either to camps or settlements for refugees and places of preferred destination for the returnees. In some locations, the new arrivals opted to self-relocate due to the slow pace of the movement, congestion in transit and feeling of insecurity in border areas. Humanitarian actors also focused on establishing systems and procedures for the delivery of assistance, including protection, health, WASH and others, mitigating the manifestation of disease. The new arrivals were often traumatized and in a vulnerable situation, requiring high levels of assistance, particularly, life-saving assistance, access to basic services and protection. With the possibility of protracted displacement, it is imperative for Regional RRP partners to build the resilience of refugees and host communities and link to broader development responses that are needed to ensure long-term stability and self-sufficiency, alongside a humanitarian response which meets life-saving needs.

Central African Republic

Amdafock, Central African Republic

A group of Sudanese people wait to be registered as refugees. Thousands of Sudanese civilians have crossed the CAR border fleeing violence in Darfur.

UNHCR/Xavier Bourgois

Strategic objectives and sectoral priorities

In 2024, the Regional RRP will continue life-saving and emergency humanitarian activities such as registration, provision of emergency shelter and core relief items, facilitating access to essential health and nutrition services, support to host countries to ensure access to territory and asylum for all individuals in need of international protection, including those with specific needs, unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) and other children at risk. Survivor-centred health, psychosocial, security, justice and other services will also be scaled up for GBV survivors. Relocation of the new arrivals to safer sites in collaboration with concerned governments remains a priority despite the huge logistical challenges. The 2024 plan will pursue a deliberate and important inclusion of resilience and systems strengthening with concerted efforts to engage development partners in complementary interventions on the humanitarian, peace, and development nexus.

Sudan

Djabal refugee camp, Sila Region, Chad

Zamzam Ahmat Kouyouka and her two daughters fled Khartoum following the death of her husband in the ongoing conflicts. Following a harrowing and arduous journey, she was reunited with members of her family before continuing to the Djabal refugee camp, where UNHCR and its partners provided life-saving assistance.

UNHCR/Eugene Sibomana

The 2024 RRP will be organized around the four following strategic objectives:

  1. Support host countries to ensure access to territory and asylum for all individuals in need of international protection and in compliance with the principle of non-refoulement and the civilian and humanitarian character of asylum.
  2. Support host countries to provide timely and life-saving protection and humanitarian assistance for all those fleeing Sudan, with a specific focus on identifying and supporting the most vulnerable and those most at risk in need of specialized protection interventions and other services.
  3. Support host countries to build capacity and resilience so that those fleeing Sudan are included in national systems, particularly in health and education, and able to live in integrated settlements, and or in rural areas or urban areas and undertake livelihoods.
  4. Support neighbouring countries to ensure access to their territory for third-country nationals and assist, in close coordination with embassies and consulates, third-country nationals with immigration procedures and in contacting respective consular authorities to enable them to return home to their respective countries of origin.

Efforts will continue to plan for and support the medium and long-term inclusion of refugees in national systems across sectors and for livelihoods and economic inclusion. All RRP partners are committed to Accountability to Affected Populations, empowering local communities and promoting a localization agenda to foster local capacity and ownership. In addition, measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse will continue to be instituted by all organizations. As the region is prone to climate shocks, mitigation measures and other environmental interventions will be implemented across the programme to promote a sustainable, resilient response to the Sudan crisis.

Syrian Arab Republic (3RP)

  • Current People in Need
    12.9 million
  • Current People Targeted
    12.9 million
  • Current Requirements (US$)
    $4.88 billion
People in Need at launch (Dec. 2023)
17.2 million
People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2023)
9.9 million
Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2023)
$5.5 billion
Type of appeal
Refugee Response Plan
Countries covered
Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Türkiye
Refugees targeted
6.3 million
Host community members targeted
3.5 million

Analysis of context, crisis and needs

In 2024, the Syria crisis marks its thirteenth year without a political solution. Over 6.5 million Syrians, many of them displaced for over a decade, have sought refuge in Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt — the five countries covered by the Syria Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP). The protracted nature of the conflict, which has resulted in one of the world's largest refugee crises, has strained public infrastructure and services in host countries, especially housing, education, health care, waste management, water and sanitation.

Recent global events and trends, including the war in Ukraine, an increase in inflation and currency devaluations, and the worsening impact of climate change, have deteriorated already fragile socio-economic conditions. Furthermore, 2023 saw additional emergencies in the region, notably the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria in February, which killed over 50,000 and displaced over 3 million people, and the conflict in Sudan, which erupted in April and has forced more than a million individuals to flee into neighbouring countries, including Egypt.

Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt have been impacted by the rising food and energy prices due to their wheat import dependence. Lebanon has continued to experience an unstable political environment coupled with a collapsing economy. Egypt, dealing with the consequences of the Sudan crisis, has seen an influx of over 330,000 individuals seeking refuge as of October 2023. The most recent conflict, erupting in October in Israel and the Gaza strip, has already generated massive internal displacement and may further affect the stability of the wider region. Iraq, although relatively stable, grapples with protracted humanitarian and development needs, political challenges, and a volatile security situation. Over the years, the inclusion of refugees into public services and policies in Iraq has been gradually achieved in most sectors. 3RP partners in Iraq have been gradually shifting from emergency humanitarian response to a longer-term solutions approach, with a focus on the inclusion of refugees into public systems and services.

Lebanon

El-Mina, Lebanon

Syrian refugee and widow Khadra, 50, cleans lentils outside her tent in El-Mina, northern Lebanon, where she has lived in an informal refugee settlement for the past 12 years since the Syria crisis began. She shares a one-room tent with her five children, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren, and has to forage for food in rubbish piles to feed her family.

UNHCR/Joelle Abou Chabke

A noticeable rise in poverty among refugees and host communities underscores the growing challenges, with reduced humanitarian assistance and limited or fragile social safety nets. This has resulted in increased reliance on harmful coping mechanisms, such as families reducing meals, accumulating debt, and cutting expenses on health and children’s education. Female-headed households are more prone to poverty and are frequently unable to access basic services. Incidents of gender-based violence (GBV), sexual abuse, rape and trafficking have increased over the past year, and an estimated 7.3 million women and girls need GBV-related services. Services to respond to people with disabilities, particularly women, are also limited and women with disabilities are at higher risk of sexual and physical abuse, rape and or emotional and psychological harm.

Earthquakes struck south-eastern Türkiye and northern Syria

Antakya city, Hatay Province, Türkiye
Antakya, Hatay Province, Türkiye
People walk over the rubble from destroyed buildings, following the devastating earthquakes that struck south-eastern Türkiye and northern Syria on 6 February.
UNHCR

In the aftermath of the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, over 9 million people were affected, with around 3.6 million rendered homeless, particularly in the four worst-hit provinces. Additionally, the earthquakes disrupted the education of nearly 4 million children, especially in the affected provinces. Moreover, there is growing concern about the risk of early and forced marriages causing some children to abandon their education.

The protracted nature of the Syria crisis, compounded by challenging socio-economic circumstances in most 3RP countries, makes preserving social cohesion vital. However, mitigating tensions between communities is becoming increasingly challenging in a context where protection space is shrinking. Funding for the 3RP is dwindling even as needs become more acute. At the end of November 2023, funding was at a mere 23 per cent of the total appeal of US$ 5.86 billion. As international support is stretched by other global priorities and emerging crises, this decline poses a significant risk, exacerbating the crisis in 3RP countries and threatening their socio-economic stability.

Jordan

Azraq Camp, Zarqa, Jordan

Syrian volunteer Hanan Al Horani plays with children. Azraq refugee camp is home to 40,000 Syrian refugees. UNHCR manages the camp in coordination with the Government of Jordan.

UNHCR/Osama Sabbah

Strategic objectives and response priorities

Over 270 partners across 3RP countries will continue to support government-led efforts in assisting refugees and vulnerable host community members. The ‘One Refugee’ approach, the Global Compact on Refugees, and the 2030 Agenda guide the 3RP’s long-term, solutions-orientated response. Notably, Iraq aims to transition out of 3RP by 2025 due to successful refugee inclusion into public services and a shift towards resilience-strengthening programmes. This transition is coordinated under the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), with established benchmarks set to guide the process in 2023 and 2024. The aim is to advance refugee inclusion and to fully operationalize the Humanitarian-Development Nexus under the refugee response.

In 2024, over 17 million people in 3RP countries are projected to be in need of assistance. This includes some 6 million refugees and 11 million impacted host community members. "

In 2023, up to 30 September, some 28,000 Syrian refugees were verified as having returned to Syria, reflecting a slight downward trend compared to 2022. As of the same date, some 33,000 refugees from the region — which includes approximately 4,000 non-Syrian refugees — have been referred for resettlement to third countries in 2023. Syrian refugees continue to have the most pressing global resettlement needs, with projections indicating that over 753,000 Syrian refugees will be in need of resettlement in 2024.

In a survey of refugees conducted between January and February 2023 across the region, a mere 1.1 per cent of Syrian refugees expressed the intention to return home within the next year, even if the majority still hope to do so eventually.

Egypt

Cairo, Egypt

These young people are refugees from Syria. They attend an Instant Network School class in Cairo, Egypt. Instant Network Schools were set up in 2013 by Vodafone Foundation and UNHCR to give young refugees, host communities and their teachers access to digital learning content and the internet, improving the quality of education in some of the most marginalized communities in Africa.

UNHCR/Pedro Costa Gomes

The 3RP's 2024 response will focus on four strategic directions:

  1. Protecting people: Protection is at the heart of the 3RP response. Partners will continue to work to keep refugees and vulnerable host community members safe from exploitation, abuse, violence, and psychosocial distress and to support survivors. Access to legal aid and documentation will help people to live dignified lives and access basic services. In addition, strengthening gender-based violence prevention, mitigation, and response, increasing the scale and scope of specialized child protection services, and expanding community protection and refugee-host community cohesion will also remain priorities.
  2. Promoting durable solutions: Aligned with international standards and frameworks, the 3RP works towards durable solutions. It emphasizes expanding complementary pathways, resettlement opportunities, and supporting voluntary, safe and dignified returns, by ensuring that refugees can make informed and voluntary decisions. 3RP partners also commit to further enhance inclusion of refugees in development planning and programming.
  3. Contributing to dignified lives: 3RP partners are committed to assisting refugees and host communities in accessing essential services such as healthcare and education, ensuring food security, and providing them with sustainable and decent livelihood opportunities to enhance their self-reliance. The response also emphasizes enhancing housing standards for the most affected communities, boosting learning and employability skills, and advocating for their inclusion into national social protection initiatives.
  4. Enhancing local and national capacities: Enhancing access to more sustainable services for refugees and vulnerable host community members and strengthening social cohesion require strong support for national and local capacities. In alignment with the Grand Bargain commitment, 3RP partners will continue to advance localization by empowering local and national authorities, fostering community ownership, and supporting local entities, including civil society organisations and strengthening partnerships with the private sector.
Türkiye

Türkiye

Syrian refugee families living in an informal camp in Hatay for people displaced from their homes after the earthquakes that struck south-east Türkiye on 6 February, 2023. Water, sanitation and hygiene remain some of the most urgent priorities for children and families.

UNICEF/ Ann Marie Wilcock

Disability inclusion, Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) are crucial elements of the 3RP response. The 3RP is guided by the principle of leaving no one behind, which not only entails reaching the most vulnerable populations but also addresses the intersecting inequalities that hinder affected communities' access to services, resources, and equal opportunities. By adopting community-based approaches, the 3RP promotes the participation of affected populations, addressing inequalities to ensure equitable access to services and opportunities. Efforts are directed at enhancing feedback and complaint mechanisms, reinforcing the PSEA focal points network, and ensuring that protection and support for those affected by SEA are integrated across all sectors.

The outlook for 2024 and beyond is concerning due to limited multi-year funding and decreasing overall humanitarian support for the Syria situation. Underfunding has severe consequences for refugee-hosting countries like Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.

Ukraine (RRP)

  • Current People in Need
    2.2 million
  • Current People Targeted
    2.2 million
  • Current Requirements (US$)
    $1.08 billion
People in Need at launch (Dec. 2023)
2.2 million
People Targeted at launch (Dec. 2023)
2.2 million
Requirements (US$) at launch (Dec. 2023)
$1.0 billion
Type of appeal
Regional Refugee Response Plan
Countries covered
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
Refugees targeted
2.2 million
Host community members targeted
55,000

Analysis of context, crisis and needs

The war in Ukraine continues unabated with no resolution in sight, with more than 5 million people displaced internally and over 6.3 million abroad. As of 28 November, 5.9 million refugees from Ukraine are recorded in Europe, close to 2 million of whom are in the countries covered by the RRP: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

The Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) in the European Union, which was recently extended until March 2025, and Moldova’s Temporary Protection regime, which came into effect in March 2023, have provided a favourable framework to ensure protection and access to rights and services in host countries for refugees from Ukraine. Still challenges remain with inconsistent approaches to the implementation of TPD, which can prevent often the most vulnerable groups from effectively accessing their rights. Over the course of 2024, governments will also be preparing for the transition phase after the end of the TPD regime.

Republic of Moldova

Botnarestii Noi, southern Moldova

Yulia Shabalina (right) pictured with her mother Galina. The family has received UNHCR winter cash assistance and help insulating the house.

UNHCR/Andrew McConnell

Looking forward to 2024, barring unexpected developments, newly displaced refugee movements into neighbouring countries and beyond are expected to decrease as compared to the first years of the response, meaning a smaller yet still substantial group of refugees will be arriving to, or moving through, RRP countries in need of initial reception assistance. Among refugees present in host countries, intentions surveys indicate that while most hope to return to Ukraine one day, only 14 per cent plan to do so in the near term, primarily due to concerns about safety and security but also the availability of jobs, basic services, education and housing in Ukraine. For those with no immediate intention to return, the vast majority plan to remain in their current host country, where they require continued support from host governments and the international community to meet their basic needs, access key services and build their self-reliance and meaningful inclusion in host communities. Some 86 per cent of refugees from Ukraine in RRP countries indicate at least one urgent unmet need, including access to food, employment, healthcare, accommodation, or material assistance while nearly a quarter of refugee households indicate having at least one member with a specific vulnerability. Challenges accessing decent work, receiving health and social services and securing sustainable housing solutions persist for many due to various and often interconnected challenges, including language barriers, limited information, financial constraints, job-matching difficulties, lack of childcare and overstretched local resources.

Moreover, on average only around half of school-age refugee children and youth from Ukraine were enrolled in schools in host countries at the start of the 2023-2024 school year. In addition, some 44 per cent of households with school-aged children report at least one child still not registered in the education system of the host country. This means hundreds of thousands of refugee children and youth continue to be at risk of remaining out of school when the 2024-2025 academic year starts in September 2024, which will mark the fourth consecutive year of education disruptions for children and youth from Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

Poland

Warwsaw, Poland

Ukrainian refugee Ella, 28, is responsible for her children, Zlata, 1, and Matvii, 3, and one additional child in her custody, in Warsaw, Poland. She is worried that she won't be able to take care of the children in a foreign country, so uses free legal consultations to find out what her rights are. The charity European Lawyers in Lesvos (ELIL), which has more than 40 volunteer lawyers working across Warsaw, has helped her secure social benefits for childcare.

UNHCR/Anna Liminowicz

Strategic objectives and sectoral priorities

In 2024, 314 partners, 220 of which are national NGOs, will require just over US$1 billion to support 2,245,000 refugees with protection, assistance, and resilience-building activities. Building on the 2023 RRP for the Ukraine Situation, the 2024 RRP for the Ukraine Situation aims to support and complement refugee-hosting countries’ national response, with a focus on four regional strategic objectives:

  1. Ensure that refugees have effective access to legal status, protection, and rights in host countries.
  2. Ensure that refugees with specific needs and vulnerabilities have access to targeted support and assistance.
  3. Strengthen refugees’ socio-economic inclusion in their host communities and increase their self-reliance.
  4. Reinforce the social cohesion between refugees and their host communities.

The inter-agency response will focus on five sectors, namely Protection (including Child Protection and Gender-Based Violence), Education, Health and Nutrition, Livelihoods and Socio-Economic Inclusion and Basic Needs, and will include a number of cross-cutting priorities, including Mental Health and Psychosocial Support; Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Localization, to name a few.

The response is increasingly localized through the growth and importance given to local partners and the work with municipalities. The RRP has grown from the inclusion of 142 partners, when it first came out, to a full 314 partners appealing together for 2024. This growth has happened as local and national actors have become familiar with the refugee response plan and increasingly see the benefits of being part of a coordinated response.

References

  1. [1] Source: https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/afghanistan
  2. The Objectives of the SSAR are I). Creating conditions conducive to voluntary repatriation through community-based investments in areas of high return; II). Building Afghan refugee capital based on livelihood opportunities in Afghanistan in order to facilitate return; and III). Preserving protection space in host countries, including enhanced support for refugee-hosting communities, alternative temporary stay arrangements for the residual caseload, and resettlement in third countries.
  3. 24 UN entities urged immediate action to protect women and girls on 14 July 2023.
  4. https://reporting.unhcr.org/unhcr-projected-global-resettlement-needs-2024
  5. Population figures are taken from https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/sudansituation
  6. UNHCR, "Exacerbating vulnerabilities: Where do global shocks leave refugees in Jordan?", https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/101132.
  7. UNFPA, "Syria: Situation for women and girls’ worse than ever as crisis grinds on," June 12, 2023; Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, "Gendered Impact of the Conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic On Women and Girls," June 12, 2023.
  8. OCHA, "Humanitarian Transition Overview - Türkiye Earthquake Response," August 2023, https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/turkiye/humanitarian-transition-overview-turkiye-earthquake-response-august-2023.
  9. UNHCR, "The numbers reported are only those verified or monitored by UNHCR and do not reflect the entire number of returns, which may be significantly higher," 2023, https://www.3rpsyriacrisis.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Durable-Solutions_August-2023.pdf.
  10. https://dtm.iom.int/ukraine
  11. https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine
  12. The RRP also includes financial requirements related to Belarus, in the regional budget.
  13. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52023PC0546.
  14. Regional Protection Profiling and Monitoring (Oct 2022 onwards).
  15. This figure includes some third country nationals having fled Ukraine, as well as host community members in Moldova – where host communities are included due to identified needs and the absence of regional actors.