Care and Maintenance
 Tie and dyes women at work |
The majority of UNHCR's operations begin as a result of an emergency caused by a sudden influx of refugees. Although host governments are responsible for the security and safety of, assistance to, and law and order among refugees in their territory, said governments, nevertheless, often rely on international support. UNHCR, therefore, provides assistance to refugees at the request of governments and, in this regard, has been involved and helpful in refugee care and maintenance services covering a full range of basic human necessities such as food, shelter, and sanitation, as well as educational and healthcare services.
When conditions prevail that allow return in safety and with dignity, going home is the preferred and most beneficial solution for refugees, as it enables them to resume their lives in a familiar setting under the protection and care of their home country. Voluntary repatriation is clearly a protection function of UNHCR. For this reason, and particularly in the case of mass repatriation, it is important that a legal framework is set up to protect the returning refugees' right and interests. It is also imperative that refugees return in safety and with dignity with the support and cooperation of both the country of asylum and the home country.
 Tailors in a workshop covering foam mattresses for pre-school children at the refugee camp |
The local integration of refugees in their country of first asylum is also a solution to the problems of refugees, particularly when the possibility of voluntary repatriation is not foreseeable. The process of integration involves the granting of asylum and assistance to settle in order for the refugee to live independently within the community. If the means are available, the refugee should be able to participate in the local economy as well as have access to education, housing, medical care and other social services in accordance with rights laid down in the 1951 Convention.
Resettlement under UNHCR auspices is geared primarily to the special needs of mandate refugees whose life, liberty, safety, health and / or other fundamental rights are at risk in the country where they had previously sought refuge. It is also considered a durable solution, in particular circumstances, for refugees who do not have a resettlement need due to immediate protection concerns. The decision to resettle a refugee is normally taken, with priority, when there is no alternative way to guarantee the legal or physical security of the person concerned.
International Medical Referrals of Refugees (Medical Evacuation)
In general, all refugee patients should be treated locally in public hospitals and related facilities normally available to nationals and in private hospitals and clinics only when justified by very exceptional circumstances. In such cases, where adequate facilities are not available locally, a refugee patient may be referred for specialized treatment outside the country of asylum. These are the cases covered under project AP/VAR/LS/401, informally known as medical evacuation. Such referrals should normally be within the same region unless appropriate care is available at a lower cost outside the region.
The
"Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative Fund" (DAFI)
The DAFI Scholarship Programme
is a trust fund provided annually by the Foreign Office of the Federal
Government of Germany to UNHCR. Its purpose is to provide scholarship
to needy refugee students for academic studies in developing countries.
The Division of Operational Support (DOS) is responsible for the implementation,
monitoring and reporting to the German donor. This responsibility is delegated
to UNHCR offices in various countries.
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